Melancholy of Danny Phantom
by FlymanOak
Summary: Ever since stopping the Disasteroid, he's never been more in tune with himself. He's in his junior year of high school, he finally admitted his feelings to Sam, and everyone who needed to know his secret knows the truth! He expanded his heroics horizon from just ghost related problems to human related issues. But all that changed when Dani arrived at his doorstep.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Anyone that knows me, knows I love Danny Phantom, and I truly miss it and if you haven't watched it, you should. It's on Hulu for easy access. So, since I missed the show, I decided to continue from where it left off. Some of the stories I read which inspired me to write this are, Mortified by FiveRivers, a little bit of Kryalla Orchid, and any stories by CrypticMoonFang. This all takes place after Phantom Planet. I hope you guys all enjoy this story!**

Everything was destroyed. Flames surrounded the war-torn battleground in Amity Park. With every ounce of willpower Danny Phantom had, he shakily rose to his feet. Ectoplasm leaked through the gashes on his arms as he could sense the battle nearing it's end. "Well, if this is the end, let's go out with a bang," he said as he prepared to unleash his Ghostly Wail.

Danny would never stop loving the feel of the wind rushing around his body as he flew through the sky during patrol. Ever since stopping the Disasteroid, he's never been more in tune with himself. He's in his junior year of high school, he finally admitted his feelings to Sam, and everyone who needed to know his secret knows the truth! He expanded his heroics horizon from just ghost related problems to human related issues. He stopped muggings, assaults, robberies, burning buildings; anything to make Amity Park a better place for it's citizens. It seemed like things were starting to look up for Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom!

The alarm of the jewelry store rang through the city block, alerting Danny and drawing him to the robbery. Danny told the thieves, "You'd think now that I'm more public in my activities, you common crooks would stop with your antics." The thieves looked up to see the halfa floating in the air, as they stared in a mix of awe and terror. "Don't just stand and stare", shouted the thief, "shoot him!" Bullets zipped through the air as Danny went intangible. He quipped, "C'mon now, bullets? I expected you guys to learn." Danny freezes and shatters the crooks weapons in their hands. He forms cuffs out of ecto-energy to contain the would-be robbers. "Now, just to wait for the police to pick you guys up! Sadly, they still don't like me very much. Well, my charm will wear them down someday. Have a good one!" Danny said as he flew into the evening sky.

"_Even with my powers, I still manage to be late.",_ Danny thought. He was supposed to meet up with Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger but if he didn't get there in time, they'd eat before him. Danny touched down across the street and turned back to Fenton as he dashed into the restaurant. "I'm here!", Danny shouted as he nearly flew into the booth. "You made it! And, in record time, I might add." Tucker sarcastically states as Danny arrived. "I'm sorry I'm late," Danny continued, "Something came up. I wish I could've dealt with it faster." Danny ordered his food and sat at the booth to eat. Sam asked him, "So, how was patrol?", Sam asked him. Danny responded, "Boring. Not a single ghost has exited the Ghost Zone for weeks; not even the Box Ghost! All I've had to deal with are ordinary human crimes. It's really starting to freak me out. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but this is getting weird. Something or _someone _is keeping these ghosts in the Ghost Zone." The sun set as darkness crept over the sky. Danny glanced out of the window, "It's getting late guys, I've gotta go." They said their goodbyes and Danny crept to the back of the building to morph into Phantom and fly home.

"_One of the perks of revealing my secret to my parents is an extended curfew for my heroic outings." _Danny thought to himself as he morphed back to Fenton and walked through the front door of his home. Maddie's soothing voice caught Danny's attention, "Welcome back home Danny! How was your patrol?" Danny replied, "Just like the last few days, no ghost activity; just normal human crimes. What's keeping them on the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked in confusion. Jack Fenton's voice boomed through the kitchen, "Don't worry Danny-boy! We'll figure it all out eventually!" Maddie said to Danny, "It'll be alright Danny. Now, it's getting late. Get to bed, you have school in the morning." Danny yawned, "Alright. Good night, mom." Maddie responded, "Good night, Danny." Danny walked up to his bedroom and fell into a deep sleep.

_Danny phased through the building as it crashed down around him. The red eyes were surrounding him, trapping him against the wall. He let the cold energy build up until it had nowhere to go but out, and he froze the enemies keeping him surrounded. He unleashed a powerful ecto-energy blast and shattered them. The attack seemed futile as the enemy reformed itself. The ghost grabbed Danny and lifted him in the air by his throat and phased his hand through Danny's chest._

Danny woke up a short time through his nightmare, because of the activation of his Ghost Sense. Ever since he got his powers, he got used to these impromptu battles in the middle of the night. He shouted his battle cry and phased through the ceiling and scoured the surroundings for any other ghosts. "Danny…" He heard the groan of pain but looked on in shock and fear once he realized who it was: Dani.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: After the overwhelming support and positive criticism on my last chapter, I decided to continue this story. These chapter updates will hopefully either be daily or every other day, because I am greatly enjoying writing this! Now to respond to some reviewers;**

**Invader Johnny: Thanks for your thoughts! Danielle resurfacing is only the beginning of returning characters! I hope you'll enjoy everything I have in mind!**

"Dani? What are you doing here?", Danny questioned his cousin, technically clone. After stopping the Disasteroid, Danielle went back into the Ghost Zone. She wanted to find herself and be more than just Dani Phantom, she didn't want to be known as Vlad Masters' science experiment. "Something's happening, in the Ghost Zone. Someone is holding everyone inside. It was only pure luck that I was able to escape.", she explained. _"What could hold all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone?"_ Danny thought. He guided Dani inside of Fenton Works to the living room. "We can talk more about this in the morning. You need to get some sleep; you look exhausted.", Danny instructed her. Danielle was struggling to stay awake, it was amazing that she escaped in the condition she was in. She laid on the couch, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Danny walked back up the stairs and went back to sleep, hoping the next day would be less stressful.

_Danny and Sam were enjoying a wonderful picnic in Amity Park's park. The sun's rays were beaming down onto them. "Danny", she spoke to him ", wake up." Danny was confused. "Wake up." Sam repeated. It sounded like her voice was being changed; it was started to sound more like his mother's. "Danny, wake up!"_

Danny jolted awake. He looked at his alarm clock; he had thirty minutes to get ready! He rushed to get dressed and eat breakfast and he ran to the backyard. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and shouted his battle cry, "I'm going ghost!" He zoomed through the air as fast as he could. He let Mr. Lancer know he was Danny Phantom, so he was excused for ghost related activities, but oversleeping was not excused. He could see Casper High ahead of him so he touched down behind the building, and turned back into Fenton.

He rushed into Mr. Lancer's class just seconds before it started. "Good morning class, I am glad to see that you are ALL here." Mr. Lancer said as his eyes focused on Danny. "Now, everyone turn to page three hundred eleven in your textbooks.", Lancer finished. Whatever he was saying wasn't registering in Danny's mind as he was thinking about Danielle's sudden reappearance. Mainly about what was happening in the Ghost Zone. Only one person could have enough of a hold on the Ghost Zone to intimidate the ghosts into staying; Pariah Dark. But that would be...impossible. As far as he knew, Pariah Dark was still in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep since he beat him all those years ago. He assumed Frostbite would find a way to tell him if something as major as the Ghost King resurfacing was happening inside of the Ghost Zone.

The only way Pariah could return would be for someone to release him themselves. And, no one in the Ghost Zone liked Pariah as a ruler, so no one would even WANT to free him; so, that rules him out. But, other than him, no one else has the level of intimidation, or power, to keep everyone in the Ghost Zone. "Danny,", Sam said, "class is over.", she finished. "Sorry, must've been lost in thought." he stated. "So, word on anyone that could keep all of those ghosts in the Ghost Zone?", Tucker asked. "No. Nothing. The only one it could be would be Pariah Dark, but he's still in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.", Danny said. They all walked into the cafeteria, knowing it was about time for lunch.

"Don't worry Danny, I'm sure we'll figure it out soon enough.", Sam comforted as she interlocked her fingers with Danny's. "Oh, young love. How wonderful.", Tucker quipped. Danny mindlessly ate his lunch; his mind only filled with possibilities of what could be containing the ghosts in the Ghost Zone. The ringing of the bell drew Danny out of his thoughts, signifying that lunch was over. The rest of the day flew by, as Danny was fully occupied with his thoughts. There were very few people strong enough to terrify all of the ghosts to the point they would stay in the Ghost Zone. He already ruled out Pariah Dark, and Vlad Plasmius was presumably dead in space after the Disasteroid.

But that only leaves...no. It couldn't be. That monster is still trapped in the thermos with Clockwork; and, if He leaves Clockwork's lair, the paradox will affect him. He can't escape the Fenton Thermos, hopefully. The only way a ghost can get out of the thermos would be for someone to release him themselves; but, Clockwork doesn't let anyone else in his lair besides the Observants, and they know the threat that monster is. The only way to find out would be to go into the Ghost Zone himself, but that would be dangerous. If he goes in, who knows if he could get back out on the off-chance he would go into the Ghost Zone. The only way he could find out if it WAS Him, would be if he chose to reveal Himself. Which Danny wanted, to confirm his suspicions, but at the same time he didn't want, because a fight with Him would not be an easy one.

After school was over, Danny dashed behind the building, turned ghost and flew home. His parents only knew the basics of his secrets. They don't know all of his enemies and he hoped he would never have to tell them about Him or how He was created. Danny would tell them eventually, but he didn't want tell them with the possibility of His return. Maybe, if that demon sent a ghost through the Ghost Zone, Danny could get some type of information from them. But, who knows the chances that could happen. He hasn't fought a ghost in weeks. One showing up would be helpful, all his fights recently were way too easy. If the pace didn't pick up soon, his skills could get rusty; and that, is not something he would want. If he chose to go into the Ghost Zone, the best places to go would be Clockwork's lair and the Far Frozen. Clockwork's lair could confirm his suspicions, and the Frostbite in the Far Frozen could possibly lend him the Infi-Map to get out of the Ghost Zone.

But, a mission as dangerous as this one will require a lot of planning. First thing to consider would be bringing someone along. Bringing others with him would be helpful but, he wouldn't want to endanger them. Danielle has been exhausted since her escape, so that takes her out of consideration. Tucker? No. Sam? Definitely not. If he took her with him and something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself; especially knowing he could have prevented it from happening. Jazz? She's out of town for college. He cannot bring his parents, because he does not want them to see Him if He's there. Who knows what He would do to them just to affect Danny. Well, it looks like he'll just have to bring himself. This is definitely a bad idea; and Sam is going to kill him when he tells her his plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! As of right now, these chapters will either be every other day or everyday; it all depends on when I get them finished. Now, about the main villain. I'm pretty sure everyone can guess who He is. And me capitalizing **_**Him**_** when referring to the villain is not me likening**_** Him **_**to a deity; it's to differentiate from when I use **_**him**_** when referring to Danny. Now, to get to some reviews:**

**Invader Johnny: You are truly correct. Danny's hero complex is his biggest gift and his biggest downfall.**

"Danny, this is a terrible idea!", Sam scolded him. He was hoping she would agree with him for this. But, he understands why she isn't agreeing. If He's in here like he thinks he is, it's a big risk even considering going into the Ghost Zone. "I know, I know. But, I have to find out what's going on in there. And, if He is in there, I'm the only one who even has a chance to beat Him.", Danny argued. "You describing how slim your chances of victory are, is not helping your case.", she continued. "If you go in there, and you fight Him, you could be killed.", she finished. "If He's back, then he can't leave Clockwork's lair or the paradox will catch up to him and he'll cease to exist. So, he definitely wouldn't want to affect his existence by fighting me.", Danny said.

Danny came to a realization, "I think I've figured it out. The only way He could stay safe from the paradox and establish His dominance in the Ghost Zone!" Sam asked, "How?" Danny continued, "Duplicates! He can't get caught by the paradox of His existence because the main version of Himself stays in Clockwork's lair. If I go into the Ghost Zone as Danny Fenton instead of Danny Phantom, I could easily traverse the Ghost Zone without His Ghost Sense activating so that I can safely get to the Far Frozen to ask Frostbite if my suspicions are true." Sam sighed, "I don't know. What if he sees you? Would you be able to beat Him or at least hold Him off?" Danny answered, "I could definitely handle His duplicates, because they're only a fraction of a power. And, even if I have to fight His main self, He would probably be a lot weaker after all of that time in the Fenton Thermos." Sam told him, "That would make sense but, who knows how long He's been free anyways. Depending on the length He's been free, who knows how long He's been refining His skills. Who knows if he was training inside of the Thermos! This whole plan is based on _what-ifs_.", she told him.

"You're right", he said, ",this is a huge risk. But, if something happens involving the time stream, he could escape and wreak havoc throughout Amity Park; and, I refuse to let that happen." Sam sighed. Danny would always choose to be a hero and there is nothing she could do to change that. She took the ring that Danny gave her when he admitted his feelings to her and left it in his hand. "Promise me.", she told him. Confused, Danny asked, "Promise you?" She clarified, "Promise me you'll bring that ring back to me." Danny looked directly into her eyes and said, "I promise you I will bring that ring back to you." She smiled warmly and said, "Thank you." She kissed him. "Now go.", she said. He flew back home and spoke to his parents and explained how he would be in the Ghost Zone for a little while. He told Tucker to get the news to Lancer if he wasn't back by the next morning.

He went down to the lab and opened the portal to the Ghost Zone. He got inside of the Specter Speeder and prepared to launch into the Ghost Zone. He put it in drive and pressed down on the gas. What he noticed when he entered was the eerie silence in the Ghost Zone. Normally one of the enemies would approach him or something, but...nothing. It was just silent. He looked at the map of the Ghost Zone he, Sam, and Tucker were working on, grateful with the amount of progress on all the landmarks. He passed Skulkers Island, Sidney Poindexter's School, Walker's Prison, and Klemper's Realm before arriving at Pariah's Keep. Gladly, Pariah was still in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Which left two places to check out before heading back; Clockwork's Lair, and the Far Frozen.

He decided to exit the Specter Speeder because, if He was here, he didn't want to attract any attention. He phased through the back wall and stayed invisible to stay out of sight but, the sight when he got to the other side of the wall was bone-chilling. Everything was destroyed. The whole lair looked...obliterated. On the desk by the wall on the left was the Fenton Thermos. Mangled and destroyed. How did He escape. He looked to his right and saw the figure in the front doorway that made his blood run cold; that cloak, that flaming white hair. Even from the back Danny knew who he was looking at; Dan Phantom. After everything that happened involving him not cheating on the CAT test, he assumed he wouldn't have been created. But, he was wrong.

Danny was just about to go back to the Specter Speeder when he saw the red mist come out of Dark Danny's nose; his ghost sense. Even as Fenton he still had a small ectosignature which could be recognized when he used his powers. Dan turned around slowly, it felt as if time stood still; terror reached through Danny's whole body and he could feel it in his core. "Who's there?!", Phantom roared. Danny's eyes widened in fear. He knows he's here. He needed to get out of there. Dan raised his hand and created a powerful wave of ecto-energy which knocked Danny down and cancelled his invisibility. "I've been waiting for you to come here.", Dark Danny spoke, his voice chilling. Danny turned ghost and prepared himself for a difficult battle.

Dan sent a small burst of ecto-energy, which Danny dodged. Danny responded with freezing his Dan's legs and trying to escape. "We have ice powers?", Dan asked. "No, I have ice powers. We aren't the same, and we never will be." Danny responded with venom dripping from his words. As Danny attempted to fly out of the lair, Dan escaped from the ice and chased after him. He caught up to Danny and grabbed him by his ankle and slammed him into the back wall of the lair, knocking the wind out of him as Sam's ring fell out of his pocket. "You know, since this place is immune to paradoxes, I can kill you and I'll be fine.", Dan threatened. _"Promise me you'll bring that ring back to me." _Sam's words echoed through his head as he swore he wouldn't break that promise. His eyes turned from their usual green into an icy blue as he unleashed a gigantic blast of cold energy that froze Dan solid. He decided to ditch the Specter Speeder as he flew out of the lair as fast as he could. He tried to get back to the Fenton Works ghost portal, but he was tired after that fight and ended up at the Far Frozen.

"Greetings, Great One!", Frostbite exclaimed. Danny began, "I'm sorry Frostbite, but I can't stay long. I just needed to give you a heads up about what's happening." Frostbite guided him into the room they let Danny heal in from when Undergrowth attacked. "Whatever do you mean, Great One?", Frostbite questioned. "You mean, you don't know?", Danny asked. "I'm afraid I do not.", Frostbite stated. "This is going to be confusing.", Danny said as he began to explain the origin of Dark Danny. "So, I need you to tell the rest of your people about this. I can't stay any longer, I have to get back home.", Danny finished as he flew back to the entrance of the portal in Fenton Works as fast as he could, hoping he wouldn't encounter one of Dark Danny's duplicates on the way back. As soon as Danny arrived back home, he closed and locked the Portal to remove any possibility that monster could come through. He left the lab and went upstairs and admired the pitch black sky. Sam! She was probably worried sick about him right now. He flew through the sky and arrived at the Manson household and saw Sam through her bedroom window. He knocked on the glass and to get her attention before he turned intangible.

"Danny!", she cried his name in happiness before tightly wrapping her arms around him. She unwrapped her arms from him and he put the ring on her finger. They both sat down on her bed, hands locked together. "So, how did it go?", she asked. "Well, I was right. I still can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.", he sighed. A part of him wanted to be right, because if it wasn't Him, it would be something worse; but if he was wrong, what's worse than Him? He told her about the battle inside Clockwork's Lair, and how if they fight there, Dan can kill him with no repercussions. "So, how are we gonna beat Him? We can't just leave Him there. And as we can see now, a Thermos won't hold Him for long; He'll just come back, angrier." Sam stated. She was right. How would they beat Him? The only way to beat Him would be to trick Him into ending up outside of Clockwork's Lair so that the paradox can catch Him, but He would have to keep Him out there for a while. "We'll figure it out. We always do.", Danny said, unsure if he was trying to persuade her or himself as he kissed her. "We can talk more tomorrow, alright? I love you." She responded, "I love you, too." He flew back home to hopefully get a good night sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: About the last chapter, did anyone guess who the villain was? I hoped the talk about time paradoxes would hint to who it is. How will Danny deal with his Ultimate Enemy? Why would Dark Danny contain all of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone? Where are all of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone? How did Danielle escape? Where is Clockwork? All these questions, and more, will be answered very soon.**

Danny realized he woke up late, but he looked at his calendar; it was Saturday. He entered the Ghost Zone on Wednesday. How was he in the Ghost Zone for two days? Time was always different in the Ghost Zone, and fighting in Clockwork's lair probably didn't help very much. He went downstairs to the kitchen, but no one was there. He heard clattering in the lab and assumed everyone was in there until the activation of his ghost sense. But who he saw shook him; Vlad Plasmius. He looked awful, the Disasteroid crashing into him probably didn't do him any favors; especially because it was made of pure ectoranium. "Plasmius!" Danny shouted at him. "Oh Daniel, you have to help me!", he pleaded, sounding utterly terrified. "How are you even alive?!", Danny questioned. Anger dripping from his voice because of Vlad's nerve to appear in his home. Vlad answered, "The ectoranium of the Disasteroid formed a makeshift portal into the Ghost Zone. I was wandering the Ghost Zone for years; until a monster appeared. He could've slaughtered me ten times over with both hands behind his back, without even breaking a sweat. I had to move slowly; it was only by God's grace I escaped. Do you have any idea who we are up against?", Vlad asked.

Danny began, "First of all; there is no _we_. I will fight Him on my own, if it comes down to it. Second, you wouldn't believe who He is if I told you.", Danny finished. Vlad scoffed, "I've been Vlad Plasmius for nearly twenty-five years. You would be surprised the things I've heard." Danny smirked, "Alright then. That 'monster' is Dan Phantom. He is an alternate future of me, when I cheated on the CAT Test. Lancer called a meeting with my family, Tucker, and Sam, but during the meeting, the vat of sauce in the back of the Nasty Burger exploded. After losing everyone I cared about, I went to live with the only person who could sympathize with me; you. While there, because I couldn't bear the feeling of the pain, I asked you to use your Ghost Gauntlets to remove my human side so I wouldn't feeling any emotion. But, you doing that, sent my Phantom half into a frenzy, separating you from Plasmius and merging with it, killing me and leaving you paralyzed. The evil from merging with Plasmius overshadowed the good that I left, and he wreaked havoc on the human world and the Ghost Zone." Danny finished.

Vlad scowled as dark pink ecto-energy surrounded his hands, "So, if I just kill you here, he won't exist." Danny barely restrained himself from laughing. "You definitely couldn't beat me in the condition that you're in now. I could probably beat you with my eyes closed. Even if you could beat me, it wouldn't matter. He's in Clockwork's Lair, which is immune to paradoxes and timeline changes. We'd have to force him out of there, or destroy Clockwork's Lair so the paradox would catch him and he would cease to exist. The chances either of those things can happen are nearly impossible.", Danny explained. The glow around Vlad's hands ceased as he collapsed in exhaustion. The only way he could possibly defeat Him would be to overwhelm Him with his ice powers, because He didn't know how to defend against them. Danny scowled at Vlad, "You have to get out of here. You're not gonna stay here. Can't you just to one of your mansions or something? I assumed a billionaire like you has places everywhere. Hopefully some that were not shut down when you were presumed dead." Vlad angrily scowled back and practically growled, "I do, Daniel. And, next time I see you, it will NOT be for your help." Danny spoke back, "I'm looking forward to it. Now, get out of here."

Vlad turned intangible and flew through the ceiling of the lab, as he disappeared into the sky. Danny heard the front door open and shut, indicating that his family was back. He transformed back to Fenton and nearly tripped, running up the steps. His mother gasped in a mix of surprise and relief as she nearly knocked him over with her embrace. "Danny! You're safe. You were gone for days, luckily Lancer understood why you were gone. Did you find out anything?", she asked him. Danny needed to consider if he would tell them. The chances his parents would even find out about Him are slim, so he made the decision. "No, nothing that I could go off of." , he said. He didn't like lying to them about this but he didn't want them to worry about something they couldn't stop or confuse them about all of the time travel and timeline changes. "How's Danielle?", he asked. After everything that's been going on, his "cousin" barely crossed his mind. Wait… Dan doesn't know Dani exists. Or...at least Danny hoped he didn't.

In the chronological order of the time stream, Dan was created before Dani was even made. So if Dan had saw her, he would've assumed it was Danny, which would not have been good. Maddie began, "She hasn't gotten better or worse. She's just been sleeping since she got here. Even when she wakes up, which isn't for long, she doesn't stay awake for long. Who exactly is she, Danny?" Danny never enjoyed answering this particular question, because explaining the story of Vlad cloning him was never a fun topic. Danny sighed and began, "Danielle is…my...clone. Vlad wanted another version of me to be completely under his control to do whatever he wanted them to, under the guise that it was the right thing. She came after me once, because Vlad told her I was a dysfunctional clone and she was the original. After she rebelled against him, Vlad sent Valerie after her, under the false pretense that she was planning to kill Vlad, she hunted her down and held her captive. After that event when we managed to stabilize her she went into the Ghost Zone and I didn't see her again until the Disasteroid incident."

Maddie shook in anger. How could Vlad do all that to a child? Her child? He manipulated that poor girl without a second thought. With no remorse. He was just...evil. Pure evil. How could anyone do all of that to child for their own personal gain? Danny asked his mother, "Where is Danielle now?" His mother responded, "She's asleep in the living room. Why?" Danny looked his mother directly in her eyes and said, "I think I may know what's wrong with her." Maddie guided Danny to where Danielle was asleep on the sofa, as Danny felt her forehead as if he was looking for a fever. He removed his hand and the saw the faint amount of ectoplasm that came off. "It's just like I thought. She must have really strained herself on her flight out of the Ghost Zone which slightly activated a very minor version of her previous destabilization. Do we have any Ecto-Dejecto left?" Maddie responded, "I think so, it's probably in the lab. Why? Do you need it?" He nodded his head as his mother went down to the lab to bring it to him.

She brought it back upstairs and brought it to him inside of a syringe. Danny took the syringe and injected the ecto-solution directly into Dani's arm. After the injection, he rested his hand against Danielle's forehead and removed it and saw no ectoplasmic residue. It was done! She was back to complete stabilization and she would soon be awaken. After doing what hopefully healed Dani, he decided to go see Tucker. Tucker doesn't even know that Danny's theory involving Dan Phantom was correct yet. The only people he spoke to since he got back were Sam, his mother, and Vlad. Danny flew to the Foley household and turned back to Fenton and touched down on the front porch. He knocked on the door but chose to let himself in when there was no answer. He walked up the stairs and knocked on Tucker's bedroom door, hoping for an answer.

"Come in!", Tucker shouted through the door. Danny opened the door and walked through the doorway and sat at Tucker's desk. "So, how did your little field trip through the Ghost Zone go?" Tucker asked. Danny answered, "Well, I found out what was keeping all the Ghost Zone. It's Dan. He escaped from the Fenton Thermos and ravaged Clockwork's Lair, and he has duplicates all around the zone to establish his dominance. Maybe that's why no one is leaving the Ghost Zone! He's not actively holding them in, none of the ghosts want to cross His path." Tucker questioned Danny, "Did you see Him?" Danny answered, "Yeah, I saw Him. I had to fight him inside of Clockwork's Lair for a little while." Tucker's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you beat Him?" Danny responded, "Well, I didn't really beat him. He's staying inside of Clockwork's Lair because it's immune to paradoxes and timeline changes so He won't cease to exist. My ice powers definitely helped because by the time He was created, I hadn't fought Undergrowth, so He never gained those abilities. And, speaking of people I saw, guess who showed up at the lab? Vlad." Tucker's eyes widened in surprise, "How? I thought the impact of the Disasteroid killed him." Danny replied, "It didn't. Instead of frying him, all of the ectoranium made a makeshift portal which sent him into a random area inside of the Ghost Zone."

Tucker groaned, "So, we not only have to deal with our Ultimate Enemy, we'll have to deal with Vlad?" Danny responded, "We'll definitely have to find out how to defeat Dan, but Vlad won't be a problem. You didn't see him when he got to the lab. He must've been trying to escape the Ghost Zone for years. And all those years were not kind. He could've stayed Vlad Masters instead of Plasmius, but if he did, the starvation would hit him. The only reason it didn't was because he stayed in his ghost form the whole time, and he couldn't starve in his ghost form." Tucker came to a realization, "The Time Medallions! That was how Dan stayed here before, and if He can't leave Clockwork's Lair, He hasn't found them yet!" Danny grinned in excitement, "You're right! All we have to do is find the Time Medallions and keep them from Him. But, how can we get in Clockwork's Lair and find the Time Medallions while He's in there." Tucker thought deeply, "Does He sleep? Do full-ghosts even need to sleep?" Danny responded, "I don't know, but even if he does sleep, it would be difficult to get a grasp on when he does sleep. Time moves different in the Ghost Zone and the fact He's in Clockwork's Lair won't make it any easier to manage." Danny hoped he would never have to deal with Dan again but He reappeared. Clockwork said he would keep Him contained, which leads to one question; where is Clockwork?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: The ideas just keep flowing and it's fantastic! Writer's block hasn't caught up to me yet, and hopefully it never will! Danielle has been cured and you'll be getting some words from her later on in this chapter and an insight to Clockwork's disappearance. I hope you guys enjoy! Oh, and the core being a ghost's heart was an idea I loved in a story called Mortified by FiveRivers. **_**Warning; Minor to major torture.**_

"GAHHHHHH!", the shock from the ecto-electricity felt like it was eating the chained up Clockwork from the inside out. "Now, you can tell me now, and your suffering will end, or you can keep it to yourself and you can test how creative I can get.", Dan said in a chilling voice. "I would rather die.", Clockwork said through forced wheezes of breath. Dan scowled at him, showing his fangs and his pointed tongue. "Do you really want to test me Clockwork? How far do you think I can push you without killing you?", Dan's red eyes glowed. He turned his hand intangible and violently gripped Clockwork's core. While he was gripping his core, Dan shot a powerful burst of electricity. Clockwork howled in pain. He felt as if his body was melting from the inside. The agonizing sensation was nearly too much for him. But, he couldn't reveal the location of the Time Medallions; no matter the cost. If he revealed their location, Dan would probably kill him anyway.

Dan disabled the intangibility on his hand and violently yanked it out of Clockwork's chest, leaving a horrifying mess of ectoplasm. Dark Danny spoke, devoid of all emotion, "You don't have to be so difficult. You gave my past self the Time Medallion and he didn't even ask. All I want is the same treatment." Clockwork wheezed, the hole in his chest making his breathing difficult, "Tell me, what will you do if I give you the Time Medallions?" Dan smirked at Clockwork, "I'll stake my claim on the Ghost Zone, just like I did in my timeline. Anything I can do to assure that he turns into me." Clockwork spoke back, "You'll fail. Just like you did the last time." This seemed to really make Dan angry. Dan turned around and in a split second he was right in front of Clockwork. "For someone so smart, I assumed you'd know not to make ME ANGRY!" Dan didn't just say _angry_, he yelled it. More specifically, he _wailed_ it. The point blank Ghostly Wail caused ectoplasm to leak from Clockwork's ears. This would all be over soon. All Clockwork had to do was just hold on a little longer; what exactly he was waiting for, he wasn't sure.

After Danny talked to Tucker, he decided he needed to go home and talk to Danielle. He needed to at least fill her in on what was happening, and he needed to figure out a plan to get the Time Medallions before Dan could. He walked back into the living room, and noticed her stirring. She slowly woke up and spoke, "Danny!" She gripped him tightly. He hugged her back, "Hey, are you alright?" She responded back, "I've never felt better! How'd you guys fix what was going on with me?" He smiled at her, "I gave you some of the Ecto-Dejecto. Your escape from the Ghost Zone really wore you out and it activated a minor part of your destabilization. Did you see who was in the Ghost Zone?, Danny asked, hoping that Dan didn't see her. She replied, "Not much. It's all hazy. I didn't stay still long enough to recognize who he was, I'm sorry."

Danny comforted her, "Don't be sorry. I'm kinda glad you didn't see him. Did he recognize you?" Danielle responded, "No, I don't think so. He didn't act as if he did, at least. Do you know who he is?" Danny sighed and responded, "Yes. He is Dan Phantom. He is a version of me from an alternate future where everyone I cared about was killed in an explosion and I moved in with Vlad. After I couldn't bear with the pain anymore, I asked Vlad to separate me from my human self. Once he did that my ghost self, filled with anger, separated Vlad and his ghost half and merged with it; the evil from Plasmius was too much to bear and it overpowered his good. He killed my human self, and blew up Vlad's mansion and left to wreak havoc on the human world and the Ghost Zone. He paralyzed Johnny 13, ruined Ember's vocal cords, and tore off the Box Ghost's arm and gouged out his eye. After he did all that, the Observants wanted Clockwork to kill me before I became Him. But instead, Clockwork managed to send me into that timeline to show me what I'd become if I cheated on the CAT and, long story short, imit all managed to be avoided and Dan was locked in a thermos in Clockwork's Lair."

Danielle questioned, "If you can't become Him now, how does He exist?" Danny answered, "Because Clockwork's Lair is immune paradoxes and timeline changes. He can't leave Clockwork's Lair or the paradox will catch up to Him and He'll cease to exist. The only way He could leave Clockwork's Lair would be to find the Time Medallion's and, since He hasn't left yet, He probably hasn't found them." Danielle asked Danny, "How are you gonna beat Him?" Danny sighed and responded, "I don't really know if I can. The first time we fought, I barely won, and it was because I took Him by surprise with my Ghostly Wail. The only way I can beat him now is to force him out of Clockwork's Lair so that the paradox of his existence will catch up to him." Danielle softly sighed, "So, is that even possible?" Danny responded, "Maybe? I don't know. It would require a lot of luck to catch him by surprise; even as Fenton, his Ghost Sense went off and he found me. If he ever sleeps that would help, but we'd have to find out when he sleeps." Danielle smiled at him, "I know you'll figure something out. I'm gonna go get some water." Danny stood up and went to his room, hoping some research would give him some ideas.

The ecto-constructs around Clockwork's wrists got tighter as he struggled against them. Dan's evil smirk gave Clockwork chills, "You know, I can think of endless ways to push you to the brink without killing you. My creativity has no limits; you know what to do to stop it." Clockwork coughed, "Well, you might as well get it over with because you're not getting anything out of me." Dan scowled, "Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't give you an easy way out." Dan created three other duplicates of himself which all violently electrocuted Clockwork with ecto-electricity while the prime copy of Dan created a torrent of green fire which slowly burned Clockwork's torso. Clockwork bit his tongue, Dan would not get the pleasure of hearing him scream. But, watching him suffer gave Dan the same amount of enjoyment. Ectoplasm cracked out from Clockwork's wounds as he violently shocked him while his chest turned a dark purple from the constant heat.

Dan abruptly stopped, knowing Clockwork couldn't take this punishment for much longer and left the makeshift torture chamber and angrily slammed the door shut behind him. How dare that meddling time ghost refuse him. If he knew what was good for him he'd just tell Dan where the Time Medallions were. If he told him, Dan would follow up on his promise and end the torture; by killing him instantly. Clockwork was only delaying his plans; where could he have put those Time Medallions anyway?

Nothing Danny had in his computer was good enough to beat Dan. All the information he had was His powerset, and how He came to be. None of that would be helpful, the only weakness He has would be to catch Him by surprise with powers He doesn't know about, such as his ice powers. Danny was very limited on what he could do. Danny was lost in his thoughts as his Ghost Sense went off. This gave him a mix of confusion and gratefulness as Danny turned ghost and flew through the ceiling of his room and landed on the building. The ghost he saw shocked him; the Fright Knight. In the alternate future that Dan came from, the Fright Knight was His personal soldier; Danny hoped it wasn't the same now. Danny questioned him, "What are you doing here Fright Knight?" Fright Knight scoffed, "I'm giving you time to prepare. I'll be back soon, and I'll plunge your world into fear and darkness." Danny scowled, "No, you won't!" Danny was prepared to charge at him until he disappeared in a swarm of bats. This was only the beginning.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the delay between chapters this time. I was staying pretty consistent but, writer's block finally got to me. After a lot of research, careful thought, and reading, I know exactly how this story is gonna go; down to the finale. (This chapter is kind of a filler chapter)**

Danny's next few days in and out of class were occupied with the thoughts of the Fright Knight's final warning to "plunge his world into fear and darkness." This had to be under the order of Dan. If Fright Knight was doing it himself, he wouldn't have given a warning. This would happen eventually and he needed to be prepared for it when it came. How would Fright Knight take over Amity Park? Danny had more allies now than compared to then; Danielle, his parents, Valerie, hopefully Vlad, the possibility of Vlad backstabbing him wasn't unlikely, and the amount Danny's powers have increased since their first encounter would be enough to defeat him, hopefully. All Danny could do until everything began, was prepare; which would be difficult because he doesn't know what they're dealing with just yet.

Danny was flying to Sam's house. Because of everything happening recently, they didn't get to spend any real time together. They could talk but, it never really got further than that. No, dinners together, no picnics in the park, nothing that a normal couple would do. But, then again, they aren't a very normal couple. She's a goth, ultra-recyclo vegetarian, while he is literally half-dead. Before they got together they spent their spare time fighting ghosts! Maybe they need to stop worrying about what normal couples do and worry about what Danny and Sam do.

Danny arrived outside of her bedroom window and lightly knocked on the glass. Even now she did not like when he used his powers to barge into her room; he learned that the hard way.

"Come in!" She softly called to the young half-ghost in the window. He turned back to Fenton and tightly wrapped his arms around her, "You know, it's good that my mom respects my privacy because if she came in here, she could notice how you're always up here without coming to the front door.", she stated. Danny responded, "Well, I'll get them to like me eventually. We know how they reacted to their daughter dating Danny Fenton, it would be terrible for them to realize she's with Danny Phantom too." She smiled and asked him, "How was patrol yesterday?" Danny responded, "Uneventful, just like the rest of them. The after party was more interesting. I had a surprise visit from the Fright Knight." She raised her eyebrow and questioned him, "The Fright Knight? Why was he there?" Danny responded, "He didn't give me much to go off of, other than next time I see him he'll plunge Amity Park into total fear and darkness." Sam replied, "That won't be good. Have you seen him since then?" Danny shook his head, "No. He's the only ghost I've seen in weeks."

Danny smiled warmly at her, "We should do something together. Like normal couple stuff. These little meetings are enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but we should do something else; like dinner? A picnic in the park? A movie? I'm literally unable to to stop Dan and Fright Knight right now, so we should use this time to the fullest while we still have it." Sam smiled lovingly, "You're right. What do you want to do?" Danny responded, "We could have dinner at that vegan restaurant you like, and then watch the new Terminatra movie." Sam smirked, "That's sounds like a lot of fun. If I knew you any better I'd think you already planned this." Danny grinned, "You know, you may just be right about that." She laughed as he replied, "So, tomorrow at eight?" She smiled happily, "Sounds like a plan." She kissed him as he turned ghost and flew back home. He turned intangible and he phased from the Ops Center to the kitchen to get a glass of water before he went to bed.

The Lord of Time was beginning to _really_ frustrate Dan. He could flip this place upside down while searching for these medallions but he wouldn't find them. Where would Clockwork hide them, anyway? Dan assumed he looked everywhere already so he needed Clockwork to tell Him himself. Unless, the explosion from Dan's escape knocked the Time Medallions outside of the lair, so that he couldn't reach them. If that was the truth, what would Clockwork's point be in hiding that? Unless he's hiding it so Dan would assume they're inside of the lair somewhere. Well, if any time is a time for answers, it's now.

One of the things Danny could benefit from involving this lack of ghost activity was consistent sleep. Before this, he was woken up throughout all hours of the night by ghost attacks, which really messed up his attendance; but recently he's been getting a maximum of eight hours of sleep, IN A ROW! That was like a blessing to him. Until now, he didn't know what it was like to have a consistent sleep schedule. After he woke, up he turned off his alarm and got dressed. After all the years of ghost fighting, he wasn't the same string bean he was freshman year. He wasn't huge, but he was definitely more built than before; didn't stop Dash from shoving him into lockers though. Out of all the people he told his secret to, he didn't tell Sam's parents, and Dash. Who knows how Sam's parents would react, and he wanted to let Dash have his small little victories. Besides, the less people that knew he was Danny Phantom, the better.

After he ate his breakfast, he transformed and flew to Sam's house. Her parents thought he just walked her to school, but he chose to fly her there instead. She said he didn't have to carry her through the air, and she was right. He didn't fly her to school because he had to, he did it because he wanted to. They arrived at school early, his hand in hers as they sat down in Mr. Lancer's class. It was a great start to the day as he passed the history test back, which Danny got an eighty-six on! All the studying paid off, especially because of the grade he needed in this class. The last test was months ago and, at the time, he didn't have any time to study for it, but now, he had to have brought his grade up. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were walking through the halls of Casper High as the voice that haunted Danny's freshman year echoed throughout the halls; "FENTON!", Dash yelled. Danny sighed, "I was this close. This close, to today being perfect."

Dash picked Danny up and slammed him against the lockers. This was pretty routine for Danny at this point. They exchange some words, Dash throws Danny in a locker, Sam let's Danny out, and he goes on with his day. But, today was different. Something must've really pissed Dash off because instead of just throwing Danny inside of the locker like he normally would, Dash hit Danny in the stomach _hard._ Normally Danny wouldn't fight back. Even with his powers, he wouldn't pick a fight with someone weaker than him. But this time, the heavy blow dealt to Danny's stomach triggered Danny's recently acquired battle reflexes as Danny panicked and nearly put Dash through the opposite wall.

Danny dropped down from the lockers, barely able to breath because of the blow; the sound that came out of him was more like a wheeze. Sam ran over to where Danny was sitting on the ground, "Danny, are you alright?", she asked. She knew he's taken hits worse than this before, but the concern in her tone was real. Danny was about to respond when he saw Dash rise up behind Sam. Sam saw this and turned around to protect Danny from whatever fury Dash was going to unleash. Dash scowled, "You're gonna pay for that one, Fenton. Move, Manson." The goth girl stood her ground and replied in a single word, "No." The crowd around them was quickly expanding in size. Dash growled at her as Danny's previously dazed form arose from the floor. Dash nearly raised his hand as Danny stepped between Sam and the bully.

"Touch her, Dash. I dare you.", Danny growled. For a split second, Danny's eyes turned green. Dash scowled at the couple and made the decision to turn and walk away. The look on Danny's face quickly went from angry to concerned as he asked Sam, "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Sam shook her head, "No. It's you that I'm worried about. That hit looked pretty rough, are you alright?" Danny smiled and replied, "Nah, don't worry about me. I've been hit harder than that before. Come on, we can't be late to class." The rest of the day went on pretty smoothly. Everything was normal other than the amount of people that were looking at Danny and whispering. No one noticed his eyes turn green, did they? Because that would really blow his secret. The only person at school that needed to know was Mr. Lancer; not anyone else.

After the day was over, Danny flew Sam home and said he'd be back to pick her up at eight and then he went back home. Danny walked through the front door as his mother greeted him, "Hello, Danny! How was school today?" Danny replied as he began to walk up the stairs, "It was alright. Same old, same old." Maddie raised her eyebrow, "Really? Nothing interesting? No school drama, no pranks, no _fights_?" Danny's foot stopped in the middle of his step as his mother questioned him. He was hoping she wouldn't know about the fight. He responded, "It wasn't really a 'fight'. I was defending myself! I wasn't even really trying to. Dash put me up against the locker and hit me in the stomach. I wasn't thinking, they were just my reflexes. It nearly turned into a fight when he almost raised his hand as if he was going to hit Sam." Maddie sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. You don't use your powers at school, do you?" Danny responded, "Not against people. If I drop something and I can get it faster with my powers, I do that as long as I'm not seen. That nearly changed today, I felt my eyes turn green. If he hit Sam, I don't know what I would have done."

"I'm glad you controlled yourself, but neither I nor your father would fault you for retaliating for what he threatened to do to Sam.", Maddie said. Danny was confused. Did his mother just give him the go ahead to beat up Dash Baxter? Especially now that he can? He obviously won't use his powers, but now he knows how much trouble he'll be in if he follows through. His mother advised him, "You better go get dressed. Sam will be waiting for you to pick her up soon." She was right. Their talk took a lot more time than he had. He was able to shower and get dressed before he flew to her house. Instead of just phasing through her window he decided to knock on the front door, to be greeted by her mother, "Why, hello Daniel! Would you like to come inside? Samantha will only be a little while longer." Danny thought that Pamela liked him alot, it was really Jeremy who he had to worry about. The happiness that Pamela displayed when he arrived was in no way artificial. She truly believed that Danny was the man for her daughter.

"So, Daniel, how are you?", Pamela asked. Danny responded, "Well, you know. Same old, same old, nothing really different than the usual." They talked for a little bit until Sam walked down the stairs and she looked...wow. Regardless of what Danny says, she really downplays her beauty. Well, that's what Danny thinks, anyways. She could be wearing a trash bag and he'd still think she was the prettiest girl on the planet. "You look...wow. You look fantastic.", he said. Sam scoffed, "Sure I do, come on. We can't be late. Bye, mom." Pamela replied, "Goodbye, Samantha!" Danny went ghost and slowly carried Sam through the moonlight to the restaurant. Even though he could fly as fast as he would need to, he didn't care about speed right now. They slowly touched down as he turned back into Fenton. As they walked into the restaurant, Danny spoke to the man at the front, "I have a reservation for Fenton. A table for two." The man led the young couple towards their table as they sat down and enjoyed their meal.

Danny broke the silence. "You know, I think your mom might really like me." Sam responded, "Really?" Danny continued, "Yeah, I know that your mom likes me, now I just need to get on your dad's good side." Sam scoffed, "Good luck with that." Danny smiled and spoke, "You know, you really look beautiful tonight." Sam responded, "Sure I do." Danny continued, "Seriously. You look great. You really downplay how you look most of the time." Sam replied, "I only speak the truth, Danny." They finished their meal and then left the restaurant to watch the movie. The movie was enjoyable, they shared popcorn and it wasn't the same stumbling embarrassing moment like the first time they did this. Danny flew Sam home and dropped her off at her front door. Danny spoke, "I had a lot of fun tonight. We should do this next week." Sam smiled and spoke, "I'd love to. Same time?" Danny answered, "Yeah, I love you." Sam responded, "I love you, too.", as she kissed him. Danny never felt so giddy during a flight home before.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I was so far through this chapter. I had 1900 words or so, and then Google Docs highlighted it all and when I needed to fix a spelling error, I backspaced and lost everything. So, don't fault me with this late post. But, at least I have an outline for what I want to do with this chapter now. We are getting into an amazing arc of this story right now so, I hope you guys enjoy this!**

Danny awoke early on Saturday because of the activation of his Ghost Sense, which was worrying because of the lack of ghost activity recently. He managed to get the entirety of Team Phantom to the street for what he felt was coming. When he looked outside, he saw a skeletal soldier opening a portal from the Ghost Zone. He could recognize that soldier anywhere; that was one of Pariah Dark's soldiers. Would Dan have gone as far as taking over the Ghost King's army? Danny wouldn't put it past Him. As soon as the soldier came through the portal, Danny easily destroyed it. Being a skeleton, it wasn't very durable; especially to Danny. One strike was enough to destroy it. Eventually, more and more portals opened and it was a full-scale invasion on the streets of Amity Park. All of Team Phantom was fighting back, but it seemed like it was to no avail. This army was like the hydra; for every one you kill, three more pop up.

Danny was able to easily handle the soldiers, until he began to get overwhelmed. Luckily for him, Danielle was fully rested and was able to blast the soldiers and save Danny. Danny asked her, concerned, "How are you feeling?" She responded, "I feel fine. You're welcome by the way." The two Phantoms teamed up to take on the skeletal army. Danny and Danielle fired a dual blast of ecto-energy which took out multiple ghosts at once. He dropped down to the ground as the rest of the army continued coming out of the portal. Danny's eyes turned into an icy blue as he froze dozens of soldiers and unleashed a huge wave of energy, easily shattering the soldiers. Danny spoke, "You know, I've actually done this a few times before. So, how about we skip the invasion and I just fight your boss instead? I, for one, think that's a great idea." Danny looked into the air as he saw another portal being opened, "Maybe. But, you can't handle MY boss just yet." These words echoed from the helmet of the Fright Knight as he flew to the center of Amity Park. Danny leaped into the air and flew after the Fright Knight as fast he could, but he barely made it when Pariah Dark's former pawn plunged the Soul Shredder deep into the ground and opened a larger portal, letting hundreds to thousands of soldiers to enter Amity Park.

The ghosts that came out of that portal were terrifying; Vortex, Nocturn, Undergrowth, Technus, Skulker, Aragon, Dorathea, Johnny 13, Shadow, all of Danny's worst enemies showed up and were probably working with Dan. This would not be fun. Team Phantom was altogether, preparing for the battle of their lives. Danny, Danielle, Maddie, Jack, Tucker, and Valerie were prepared to fight against the gigantic army. Danny broke the silence and spoke, "All right guys, we need a plan. Danielle, Sam, Valerie; you guys go after Aragon. He is in Amity Park park right now. Mom, dad; you guys can handle the army. They're not very conscious, just don't let them overwhelm you. Tucker; you go to City Hall, see if you can release a public service annoucement to the rest of the city. I can deal with the more dangerous ghosts, and take out the Fright Knight. Sound good?" Everyone nodded and split up to go deal with their own fight.

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Danielle, Valerie, and Sam approached Aragon; all they needed to was take off his amulet and get him inside of the Fenton Thermos. Sam spoke, "Alright, here's the plan; Danielle can distract him while me and Valerie get the amulet off of him. You ready?" They both nodded and Sam spoke, "Let's do this."

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Danny was beginning to approach his enemies. Vortex, Nocturn, Undergrowth; this wasn't going to be fun. At least these are all ghosts he's fought before, so he knows how to beat them. But, the chances they won't gang up on him are very slim. Danny stood in front of them, "Wow! You guys are really besties now, huh? I always told you to find some friends. Maybe now, we don't have to fight anymore!" Vortex send a powerful lightning bolt Danny's way as he sighed, "Guess not." Before Danny could retaliate he was subdued by Undergrowth's vines. Danny shot an ice beam from his eyes and froze and shattered the vines that were containing him so he could turn intangible to avoid the wall of ectoplasmic flames that Nocturn fired at him.

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Danielle flew into the air and sent multiple blasts towards Aragon but they barely had an affect on him, other than making him angry. Danielle quipped, "Hey, charcoal breath! Look up here!" Aragon looked up but before Sam and Valerie could get the amulet off of him, he swatted them out of the sky; resulting in Valerie having to catch Sam mid-air. Sam responded, "Thanks." Valerie replied, "No problem. So... how are we supposed to overpower this thing?" Sam answered, "The only one of us who has that kind of power is Danielle and who knows how much of her power she can even use right now." Sam turned and saw Aragon gripping Danielle in her claws. Before he could finish the job, Dorathea slammed into him, knocking Dani out of his hand. Aragon hissed, "Dorathea. You dare betray us?!" The princess narrowed her eyes towards her Aragon and responded, "I was never on your side and I never will be, _brother._" The last word she said dripped with acid as she grappled with the more experienced dragon. The fire breath from the two members of the royal family clashed, created a thick smoke.

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Danny was exhausted. This battle was not very progressive. Why couldn't he have to deal with some of the easy ghosts? No, it just had to be some of the strongest ghosts in the Ghost Zone. Undergrowth spoke, "Are you tired? Not so fun when you're on the losing side, is it?" Danny's eyes glowed a violent green as he cupped his hands together, "No. But, I'm not gonna be losing for long!" Danny unleashed the blast and shot a hole through Undergrowth's chest. Danny flew through the hole and was attacked by Vortex. "No one would expect _us_ to team up. S_hocking_, isn't it?", Vortex said as he struck Danny with a powerful lightning bolt. "GAHH!" Danny screamed in pain from the electricity connecting with his body. Danny shot an ectoplasmic blast at Vortex to stop the electric based attack. He grabbed Vortex and threw him towards the ground before he had to deflect a blast from Nocturn. He flew towards Nocturn and reared his fist back and swung at him. Thankfully not many people were sleeping in Amity Park, so Nocturn's power wasn't increasing very fast.

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Sam had nothing. She had no plans whatsoever to get this amulet off. Their two chances were Danielle and Dorathea, and she looked to be struggling. Aragon had his sister in his grasp, with his claws squeezing her neck, and spoke, "You have always been weak, _sister_. You are not worthy of this amulet." He took the amulet off of Dora and dropped it onto the ground. Sam saw this and figured it was now or never; before Aragon could finish his sister, Sam grabbed the amulet and put it on, focusing on her anger and transforming into a dragon. Aragon, however, didn't notice this and was caught completely by surprise when Sam attacked. Aragon, dazed, stood and prepared to retaliate. Sam grappled with Aragon and shot an eyebeam into his eyes to stun him. Aragon released Sam's hands to rub his eyes when Sam put her hands together and slammed them into the top of his head. The final blow knocked him unconscious, and Sam took off Dorathea's amulet and gave it back to her.

Danielle took the amulet off of him, sucked him into the Thermos, and spoke, "We did it! I didn't doubt us for a second! Thanks for the help, Dora!" Dora smiled and responded, "You are very welcome. I wasn't going to let Aragon take over the human world because he couldn't take over our kingdom in the Ghost Zone." Their post-battle conversation was interrupted by Tucker speaking into the Fenton Phones, "Um, anyone? I need some help down at City Hall! These skeletons are beginning to become to much and are getting way too close!" Valerie jumped onto her board and spoke into her earpiece, "Don't worry, Tucker. I'm on my way!" She turned to the girls and finished, "I'm gonna go and help Tucker; you guys should go help Mr. and Mrs. Fenton with crowd control." The girls nodded as Valerie flew towards City Hall.

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The hardest ghost for Danny to beat right now was Vortex; all Danny had to do was expose him to the sunlight, but the Soul Shredder really darkened the sky so that wouldn't be easy. Maybe Danny could bring the fight above the clouds or something? Before Danny could complete his thought he was blasted by Nocturn. Danny avoided the blast and fired back one of his own, "You guys aren't making this easy for me. How about this; you guys stand in line and let me beat you one at a time?" Vortex cackled, "Do you really think we are that stupid?! We won't give you the chance beat us EVER AGAIN!" Danny groaned, "Well, there went that idea." Vortex charged towards him but Danny sidestepped and threw him into the ground. Danny flew towards Undergrowth and shot an ice blast towards him. Danny channeled ecto-energy into his fist and punched the plant ghost into the office building behind him. This gave Danny enough time prepare for Nocturn charging at him. Danny quickly created an ecto-shield to defend against Nocturn and then quickly disabled it to give himself enough time to knock the ghost of sleep into a billboard. Vortex quickly rose to the sky and attempted to freeze Danny, who responded with his own ice beam. Danny spoke, "C'mon now, guys! You're gonna need to try harder than that to take me down!" The rest of Danny's previously vanquished foes rose up into the sky as Vortex spoke, "Oh, we have a _lot_ more."

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As soon as Valerie arrived at City Hall, she saw the massive army closing in on the building; how has he been dealing with these ghosts on his own? Tucker shot a blast from the Fenton Bazooka and took out a group of ghosts to get Valerie's attention, "Valerie! Come inside! Quick!" Valerie quickly dashed inside and deactivated her helmet. Valerie asked him, "What do you need?" Tucker responded, "I need you to watch the door while I look for the portable portal. Normally it would open into the Ghost Zone but I've recalibrated it to take me places in Amity Park." Valerie questioned him, "What are you looking for through the portal?" Tucker answered, "I'm looking for the other man-made Ghost Portals. If we leave them there, more enemies can come through them and we won't even know where they came from. Ah-hah!" Tucker shouted in excitement as he found the device. Valerie questioned, "But, I thought the only other portal on Earth was in Vlad Masters' mansion; wasn't that one disassembled?"

Tucker responded, "Yeah, that was the only one _we_ knew about. He definitely has more than one. So, I used my PDA and my new mayor privileges to look at all the buildings and homes Vlad has been associated with. All I have to do is connect the locations into the device and we can find them and shut them down." Tucker set the portal generator down picked the first address in his PDA, Vlad's mansion in the hills of Elmerton. Tucker pressed the button on the device and it generated a portal in front of the driveway. He bowed and spoke, "Ladies first." Valerie rolled her eyes as she walked through the portal. The two walked to the front door as Tucker turned the doorknob, to no avail. Tucker spoke, "Fantastic; it's locked." Valerie chuckled and spoke, "Step aside." She sent a blast from her wrist blaster and shot a hole in the door. Tucker smiled and said, "I have _GOT_ to get me one of those!"

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So far, Danny's plan to beat Vortex was working; the weather ghost was completely oblivious to how much higher they were getting in the sky. All Danny had to do was expose him to the sunlight. This could work easily if Vortex kept focusing on Danny and not their height. They were so close to passing up to the clouds until vines grabbed Danny's wrists and ankles from behind. Undergrowth yanked Danny out of the air and slammed him into the concrete. Vortex cackled and sent a lightning bolt Danny's way and continuously electrocuted him. Danny realized that it was no or never. His enemies closed in on him as Danny unleashed his Ghostly Wail. The most powerful attack in Danny's arsenal easily knocked the ghosts to the ground. Danny levitated into the sky as his eyes glowed green, "You guys wanna play? Let's play!"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I hope you guys really enjoyed the last chapter! That one essentially set the tone for the rest of the story and the battles that will come from it. There are also some other things to worry about; where is Vlad? After Danny's last encounter with him, he flew off somewhere. I hope you guys don't think that was the last of Danny's archenemy. **

**Reviews:**

**Invader Johnny: Right. Danny is about to go all out now.**

**SleepingBeautyRocks: Dan will be arriving fairly soon. Right now, he still can't leave Clockwork's Lair unless he has the Time Medallions. But, we'll be hearing from him soon.**

Danny's eyes glowed with power. Thankfully, all his training made his Ghostly Wail more efficient. Before, even if he used just one, he would be exhausted. But now, he felt fine. Danny quipped, "So, who wants to go first?" Danny's foes looked nervous. None of them have seen him use the Ghostly Wail before. The last time Danny encountered them, he didn't use it because he could only do one. Good thing he can handle a few of them now. Undergrowth shrunk down to a smaller size to battle the young halfa. The plant ghost threw a punch Danny's way, which Danny easily avoided as the punch flew over Danny's shoulder. After dodging the punch, Danny grabbed Undergrowth and threw him into the ground. Danny then evaded the blast from Nocturn, which struck Vortex. Vortex, in a fit of rage, sent out a lightning bolt which Danny reflected and hit Vortex. Danny smirked, "This is going to be fun."

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As Tucker and Valerie entered Vlad's manor, they took notice of multiple things; the place was covered in dust. It looked as if no one had lived there in years, which wasn't inaccurate. As far as everyone knew, Vlad's was stranded or dead. No one expected him to come back, and he didn't have many friends to take care of his property. Tucker and Valerie entered the library. Every book was covered in dust and if Tucker knew anything about Vlad, and he knows a lot, one of these should open a secret trap door into a lab. Valerie asked, "Wouldn't there be records of a Ghost Portal being built?" Tucker responded, "Sadly, no. Most of these portals aren't built with any sort of knowledge to the public. Most people didn't think Vlad had one until he exposed himself as Vlad Plasmius. Most Ghost Portals are off the books, which is why we need to search these places one at a time." Valerie used her ghost scanner to scan for any residual ectoplasm which all lead to one book; Romance for Rich Creepy Dimwits. Valerie spoke, "Tucker! Try pulling that book!", she said as she pointed towards the book. Tucker pulled it and a panel opened up in the floor. The two members of Team Phantom scanned the room, looking for the portal. Tucker quietly spoke, "If I was a portal belonging to a psychopathic half-ghost, where would I be?" A voice spoke from the room and said, "How about behind you?"

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Danny's fight was going better than he expected. He may be able to wrap things up very soon. The three powerful ghosts charged at Danny from all angles, as he unleashed a large wave of ice energy and froze all of them in place. Danny smirked and quipped when they escaped, "C'mon now, guys! Where's all that enthusiasm you guys started out with earlier?" Undergrowth tried to grab Danny with a vine, but Danny caught it and retaliated with a Ghost Stinger which electrocuted the plant ghost. Vortex blasted Danny with heat vision, which Danny clashed with using an ice blast. The young halfa approached Vortex, "You want me? Come catch me." With these words, Danny dashed into the sky. Thankfully Vortex was following him. Danny charged a blast and struck Vortex with it to keep the weather ghost's attention. "C'mon now Lance Thunder! You're gonna have to try harder than that to catch me!" Vortex yelled as he threw a powerful blast at Danny, which the young ghost hero easily avoided. Danny stopped his flight just below the clouds as Vortex charged at him, "I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" Danny sidestepped, and Vortex ended up in the sunlight, weakening him_ fast_. Danny spoke, "Well, this was fun while it lasted. We should do this again sometime!" Danny pulled out the thermos and sucked Vortex into it. Danny smirked and quipped, "One down; two to go."

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Sam and Danielle were helping Jack and Maddie keep the soldiers from getting to...where ever they were going. They didn't get far enough to determine what their plan was, until they were destroyed. Sam shot a blast from from her Fenton Wrist Ray, as Maddie blasted multiple soldiers with her Fenton Bazooka. Sam spoke into her earpiece, "Danny! How are we supposed to get rid of these things?" Danny responded, "I don't know. Maybe once I beat the Fright Knight they will return to the Ghost Zone?" Danielle cut in, "Well, we need to figure that out soon. This isn't easy." Danny replied, "Hey! You guys have it easy down there. It's not like I'm fighting the Box Ghost up here. I still need to beat Undergrowth and Nocturn before I can even start with the Fright Knight." Danielle spoke, "Do you need help?" Danny answered, "No. I can handle these guys. You stay down there and help deal with the soldiers." Jack was in the cluster of skeletons with the Fenton Ghost Gloves and eliminating the skeletons one by one. Maddie was sending multiple skeletons back to the Ghost Zone with the Fenton Bazooka while Danielle was easily taking them out in groups. Sam sighed, "Why can't it just be a normal day?"

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Valerie and Tucker stared in awe at who they saw; Vlad Plasmius. He looked...different. More like a demon than a ghost. How? Danny told Tucker Vlad looked more ghastly than he normally did from the last time he saw, so how was he perfectly fine now? Tucker gasped, "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no!" Valerie was still completely silent. Vlad smirked, "What's the problem, children? Surprised to see me?" Valerie was released from her fear and spoke, "How are you alive? I thought the Disasteroid fried your sorry butt." Vlad scowled, "You'd assume that's what happened; but I've cashed in a few favors and I am stronger than ever!" Vlad's eyes glowed a violent red as red ectoplasm surrounded his hands. Tucker spoke quietly to Valerie, "Something's different about him. Normally his ectoplasm was pink. And last I checked, he didn't have actual horns...or wings." Vlad cackled, "What's wrong, children? At a loss for words?" Valerie activated her board and grabbed Tucker as they flew out of the building. Vlad laughed, "Run! I've always liked my prey living."

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Danny easily avoided Nocturn's attack and spoke, "This is just too easy! I haven't even broken a sweat yet! You guys are gonna need to try harder than that!" Undergrowth roared and sent a vine towards Danny. Danny caught the vine and retaliated with a Ghost Stinger and knocked the plant ghost into the ground. Danny spoke into the Fenton Phones, "How's it going on finding those Portals, Tuck?" Tucker replied, "Not good! Vlad's down here! How fast can you be done up there?!" Danny responded, "I'm nearly done up here. Do you guys think you can hold him off?" Valerie cut in, "We can try!" Danny's eyes glowed as he prepared to defeat his enemies, "Well, sorry to cut this short but I've got somewhere to be. It's been fun!" Danny cupped his hands together and unleashed an extremely powerful energy blast and knocked Nocturn and Undergrowth into the ground. "I had fun, we should do this again sometime!" Danny send an ice blast at his enemies and freezed them from the waist down as he easily absorbed the two ghosts into the thermos. "Alright, guys, I'm finished. I'm on my way!"

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Tucker and Valerie hid behind an apartment building in Elmerton as Tucker gave a sigh of relief, "I think we lost him." Vlad's voice spoke from above them, "Did you?" A powerful energy blast burned a hole in the building as Tucker and Valerie ran. Before they could get far, Plasmius touched down in front of them. He used his telekinesis to draw them towards him and scowled, "Any last words?" His hand was surrounded by a red glow. Tucker saw the young halfa out of the corner of his eye slowly closing in on them. Danny spoke as he got closer, "Back off, Plasmius!" Danny slammed into Plasmius and sent him through the neighboring building. Danny helped Tucker off the ground and said, "You guys need to get out of here. I can handle him. Get back to Amity Park and help out the others." Valerie nodded and Tucker replied, "Be careful, dude." Tucker and Valerie flew off as Danny and Vlad stared each other down. Danny scowled and spoke, "You know, everytime I let you go, it comes back to bite me. You'd think I'd notice the pattern by now." Vlad smirked, "You're still the same naive child from all those years ago." Danny growled as his eyes glowed, "You haven't changed a bit. Still gunning for my mom, these days?" Vlad hissed as Danny continued, "How did you get all your power returned to you?" Vlad smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know."

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Everything seemed to be going to plan. Even though Dan's younger self defeated his three enemies, he still needed to defeat Vlad. Even though Clockwork wouldn't reveal the location of the Time Medallions, Dan was able to use his other resources. Dark Danny used Clockwork's staff to speed up Vlad's healing, and using the monitors in the room to check on Amity Park. All Dan needed was the medallion and he could ensure he would exist; that was all he wanted.

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Danny grappled with Vlad as he kneed the more experienced halfa in the chest. Danny spoke, "There's something different about you. New hair product? New toothpaste? I just can't put my finger on it." Danny channeled ecto-energy into his fist as he punched Vlad through a billboard. "My ghost half was unlocked. Before, I was more human; more limited. But now, I am more powerful than I have ever been!" Vlad kicked off of the building and knocked Danny into the opposite building. He quickly appeared in front of the younger halfa and grabbed him around the throat. "You could join us as well, Daniel." Danny shot an eye beam at Plasmius and knocked him into the ground. Danny growled as his eyes turned into a violent green, "Not gonna happen, Plasmius." Vlad smirked, "Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

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Sam shouted when Valerie and Tucker touched down, "Are you guys alright?" Tucker responded, "Yeah, we're fine." Sam instantly asked her second question, "Where's Danny?" Tucker replied, "He's...fighting...Vlad." Sam raised her eyebrow, "He's fighting Vlad? I thought was supposed to topple over anytime now?" Valerie spoke, "Didn't look like it to me. He had horns, and wings. He looked like a demon or a monster instead of a ghost." Sam gasped, "Can Danny take him?" Tucker answered, "I hope so. Because if he can't...no one can."

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Danny and Vlad clashed in the air, going blow for blow with each other. Thankfully Vlad's skills were a little rusty. Who knows what could happen if they weren't. Danny grabbed Vlad by the horns and sent him toppling into the concrete. "C'mon Plasmius. I'm getting sick of our little cat and mouse game. How about we finish this?" Vlad hissed, "Yes, let's." After Vlad spoke he unleashed his Ghostly Wail. Danny was able to defend as he retaliated with his own Ghostly Wail, the clashing sound waves shattering the windows in Elmerton. Danny sighed as he thought,_ "Since when could he do that?" _Danny spoke, "That's a new one. Did you learn it during your time as a space hobo?" Vlad growled, "If you really knew what it was like up there, you wouldn't be making jokes about it! Danny smirked, "I know what space is like. Wasn't I the one who kicked your butt up there the first time?" Vlad scowled, "Yes. But now, I'll kill YOU down here!"

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Keeping these soldiers controlled wasn't very difficult. What was difficult was finding out whatever they were up to. They were like mindless drones, only focused on one thing; but what was it? Sam spoke through the ear piece, "Guys! I have an idea." Tucker responded back, "What is it?" Sam replied, "We can hold on to one of these soldiers and then follow it to where they're supposed to be going." Danielle spoke back, "Yeah, that could work." Valerie sighed, "Well, here goes nothing."

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Dan Phantom spoke to the Fright Knight as they looked through the screen that was showing Danny's battle with Plasmius. The Fright Knight asked, "What did you do to him?" Dan smirked and responded, "There are ways to time travel without affecting the timeline. Clockwork's toys made it easier. I used his staff to open a portal into another dimension, nearly identical to our own. By opening it, that dimension's Vlad Plasmius entered through the portal. This version of Plasmius was exposed to more ectoplasm, which gave him more power. So, I split apart his human and ghost half, and merged his ghost half with our dimension's Plasmius; making him two parts ghost and one part human. All the ectoplasm from the merging had an effect on him, but it was definitely worth it."

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Danny unleashed a powerful energy blast, which Vlad responded to with his own blast. The resulting clash created an explosion burned down the trees and left massive amounts of rubble in it's wake. Danny scowled at his archenemy, "You know, with all this newfound power, you could just help us." Vlad laughed, "Please. Killing you would be a dream come true!" Vlad zoomed towards Danny as the younger halfa's eyes turned icy blue as he shot an ice beam at Vlad. Danny grabbed Vlad by his wings and threw more experienced ghost through the abandoned office building. Vlad quickly escaped from the ice and quickly dashed out of the building as he slammed into Danny and sent him tumbling into the ground. Danny quickly recovered and kicked off of the ground and sent Vlad through the ground with an energy enhanced uppercut. Danny thought to himself, _"This is more difficult than when I fought Nocturn, Undergrowth, and Vortex." _Danny scowled, "What do you even WANT, Plasmius?" Vlad smirked, "My plans are beyond your comprehension!" Danny growled as his eyes glowed an electrifying green, "I doubt that."

**Post Chapter A/N; So, if any of you guys read fan comics for Danny Phantom, Vlad's design with the wings and the horns is from Ectober. You can find it if you look, it's pretty cool. So, alternate dimensions; that kind of stuff was never hinted at in Danny Phantom, but I thought it was a good idea. Especially the merging of two different versions of Vlad Plasmius.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter. We got to see what Dan was up to, we got reintroduced to Vlad Plasmius, and we got to see what the rest of Team Phantom is up to. Now, I'm going to answer some questions before they're asked; how long will this story be? If everything works out the way I want it to, it should be nicely finished by chapter 35 or 40. And, about Dan, he won't show up for a while. We'll see what he's up to in Clockwork's Lair, but he needs the medallions before he is able to leave. There won't be many filler chapters for a while, we need to find out Dan's main plan. Mainly, where the soldiers are. One last thing before I kick off this chapter, sorry about the delayed updates. Writer's block sucks. So, I'm going to devote all my time to writing so I can just pump out chapters for you guys. Now, onto the chapter you guys have been waiting for!**

The intense battle between the two halfas continued. Danny had never fought this hard in his life. He couldn't just suck him into a thermos, and he definitely didn't want to kill him. Maybe convince him to join Danny's side? No, Dan must've offered him something huge to join sides with him. Danny grappled with Vlad, his eyes glowing a violent green as he spoke, "Joining up with Dan? What's he even offering you anyway? Horn polisher? Maybe a second cat?" Vlad scowled, "Why should I tell YOU anything?" Danny spoke, "Maybe we can work something out. I can give you what he's giving you. Just help me beat him." Vlad blasted Danny into the ground as he yelled, "You can't give me what I want!" Danny groaned, "Well, there went that idea." Danny quickly rolled to his left as Vlad slammed his foot into the concrete. Danny thought to himself, _"This fight's getting ugly. I'm going to need to move this somewhere else so no one gets hurt." _

Vlad threw a punch at Danny, which Danny caught and responded to by throwing Vlad through the air. Vlad quickly caught himself and sent a ghost ray towards Danny. Danny created an energy shield which reflected Vlad's blast into the air. Danny and Vlad flew towards each other, as Vlad send a punch surrounded by ecto-energy towards Danny; and that punch sent him flying; straight towards Amity Park.

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The strenuous job of attempting to figure out where these soldiers were going was not easy. Even after capturing them, Maddie found no mental activity to go off of. Tucker spoke, "Maybe we can let it go and just follow it to where it's going?" Danielle responded, "Yeah, we could, but finding out their plan and stopping it before it starts would be very helpful." Before Sam could finish her thought, Danny crashed through the ceiling. Danny quickly jumped to his feet as his eyes glowed an angry green. Sam spoke, concern in her tone, "Danny! Are you alright?" Danny assured her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you guys alright?" Before anyone could respond, Vlad dropped through the hole in the ceiling. Vlad smirked, "My first real visit in years! How nice to be among friends." Vlad noticed the ring on Sam's finger as he spoke, "Wow, the little badger finally manned up? It would be awful if something happened to change that." Danny growled as his eyes glowed a violent green, "If you even lay a finger on her, I'll…" Vlad interrupted, "You'll _what_? Your temper just makes me laugh. Shove me in that _ridiculous_ thermos? You couldn't fathom my power now! I could break out of that thing with my eyes closed." Danny tackled Vlad through the wall, into the apartment building next to Fenton Works; the resounding crash shook the ground. Maddie spoke with wide eyes, "Was that...Vlad?" Sam responded, "I think so." Maddie replied in confusion, "What happened to him?" No one could answer her question. None of them knew what did this to Vlad; but he was back and dangerous.

Vlad growled, "You know, Daniel. I've had a large disdain for your father for years. But when he left me in space to rot, all I had were thoughts of anger and hatred." Danny scowled, "Doesn't sound much different than what your thoughts normally were; other than the lack of jealousy for everything he had. Get over it, Vlad. My dad has everything you _never_ will. He has a loving family and a career that he loves. These are all things you can _never_ have. Because you are too focused on revenge, jealousy, and the past. You won't take any responsibility for your actions, and just want to twist them on my dad. You're a grown man, have some damn accountability!" Vlad's eyes glowed an angry red as he dashed towards Danny and grabbed him by the throat. "THOSE ARE THE THINGS I DESERVED! I SHOULD HAVE HAD THEM! NOT THAT BUMBLING BUFFOON!" Danny reared his arm back and slammed his fist into Vlad's jaw, sending him barrelling towards the ground. Danny landed on the ground and scowled, "These are the same jealous rants you gave me when I was a kid. You really haven't changed at all. We would've easily accepted you. You could've been a member of our family. Hell, my dad ignored how terrible you were for years. But you didn't want to be one of us, did you? You wanted to BE us." Vlad hissed, "You really think I'm doing this over some petty jealousy? You wouldn't understand what's happening now. These are things bigger than you and I." Danny spoke, "You'd be surprised at how much I could understand."

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Maddie spoke in awe, "I never knew Danny was so...wow." Tucker responded, "At the level Danny's at now, he could have beaten Vlad without breaking a sweat, if he wasn't powered up so much. I'm surprised they're still going at it." Danielle spoke up, "Do you think he needs help?" Tucker replied, "No. They're toe-to-toe right now. I don't think he wants anyone close to their battle. I'm gonna get to City Hall and put up an announcement to get all of Amity Park into the Anti-Ghost Shelter." Valerie said, "I'll go with you." Valerie activated her board, as Tucker hopped on and they flew towards City Hall. Danielle broke the silence, "So...what are we gonna do?" Sam responded, "Whatever we can. We can go deal with the other ghosts; like Skulker and Technus. Maybe Johnny 13 and Kitty, too." Danielle spoke, "Do you think Johnny 13 and Kitty are working with Him by their own volition? Before, they were never inherently evil; they were really just causing mischief. They never really wanted to hurt anyone." Sam replied, "Yeah, we can probably persuade them to join us." Jack interrupted, "Well, let's get to work everyone!"

Dan smirked as he was monitoring the battles taking place in Amity Park. The Fright Knight appeared in a swarm of bats as he spoke to his master. "Any progress on finding the medallions, Sire?" Dan scowled and replied, "No. Clockwork is being incredibly difficult. If I don't find them soon, we're switching to Plan B." The Fright Knight responded, "Are you sure? I assumed you wanted to do it yourself." Dan growled, "Don't question my judgement. I don't need you as much as you think I do, Fright Knight. You're just as disposable as everyone else." Fright Knight quivered, "My apologies. I meant no disrespect." Fright Knight disappeared, traveling immediately back to Amity Park. Dan went back to doing the only thing he could do; observe.

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Danny crashed through a window in an abandoned apartment building. Vlad quickly landed in front of him as Danny quickly recovered and kicked off of the wall, bashing his shoulder into Vlad, knocking him through the opposite building. Vlad cackled, "Is that all you've got?" Danny growled a response, "Far from it." Danny cupped his hands together and unleashed an extremely powerful ghost ray. Vlad created a shield which was able to take the force of Danny's blast. Danny was getting tired of this. He needed to find a way to end this _soon. _Before Danny could finish his thought, Vlad slammed Danny through a building. Danny thought, _"This is gonna be expensive. I hope Mayor Tucker doesn't have to pay for all the damages." _Danny groaned, "Do we really have to do this Plasmius?" Vlad stalked towards Danny and replied, "Why should we stop? I'm loving this! My only restraint is to not kill you, and you're lucky, because I _easily_ _can._" Danny hoped he was bluffing. If Vlad was really holding back because he couldn't kill him, then this was a problem. All Vlad said was he couldn't kill Danny. That doesn't stop him from killing anyone else. Danny spoke, "From the last visit you made, I thought you were scared of Dan. What pushed you to work with him?" Vlad responded, "He promised me things I could only wish for." Danny replied, "Would you care to share?" Vlad smirked, "I'd love to, but I think I'll keep this to myself." Vlad flew towards Danny as the younger halfa raised his arms to defend himself.

Danny already defeated the three most dangerous ghosts that were released from the Ghost Zone. So, what was left for Danielle, Sam, Maddie, and Jack to deal with were Johnny 13, Kitty, Shadow, Skulker, Technus, Penelope Spectra, Bertrand, Ember, the Lunch Lady, the Box Ghost, and that's not even counting the rest of the army. Johnny and Kitty could probably be reasoned with, and Skulker probably doesn't want to hunt Danny for someone else. So that just leaves, Technus, Spectra, Bertrand, Ember, the Lunch Lady, and the Box Ghost; this was gonna be fun. Danielle broke the silence as she spoke, "So...what's the plan?" Sam replied, "Me and Mrs. Fenton can go talk Johnny, Kitty, and Skulker; you and Mr. Fenton can deal with the others. Valerie and Tucker should be back to help soon; any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. Sam spoke, "Alright then; Team Phantom, break!"

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After Tucker pressed the red button on top of his desk at City Hall, activating the Ghost Invasion Alert, he grabbed the Porta-Portal.. Tucker spoke, "Alright, let's get back to everyone else." A voice was heard behind them, "Leaving so soon, kids? I just got here." Tucker scowled as he replied, "Johnny." Johnny responded, "C'mon now. What's with all the hostility?" Tucker answered, "I'm still not over you giving me the reputation of 'bad luck Tuck'." Johnny smirked, "Holding grudges? That's not very becoming of the Mayor of Amity Park." Valerie cut in, "Did you come by yourself, Johnny? It looks like Kitty finally got tired of you." Kitty materialized next to Johnny, "We're doing just fine. And besides, we're not here because we want to be." Tucker spoke, "Blackmail? Or is it an I-owe-you?" Johnny spoke, "I honestly don't even understand it that well myself. It was a lot of stuff I've never heard of before." Valerie spoke, "Then let's make a deal. I already know you don't want to do this; join us!" Kitty responded, "We can't. He has eyes _everywhere_." Tucker assured her, "No, he doesn't. I've been to Clockwork's Lair before; he can only watch one place at a time, and I'm assuming he's watching Danny's fight with Vlad right now, because Danny is his biggest threat." Johnny really thought it over. "Alright. We're in."

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Danny and Plasmius were at a standstill. They've been at it for hours; just going blow for blow with each other. They were completely even. It's even worse because it's starting to get late; Danny can't just fight Vlad all night, he'll need sleep eventually. Danny and Vlad flew at each other as they grappled in the air. Danny shot an eye beam at Vlad, which stunned him and gave Danny enough time to put his hands together and knock into the ground. Danny spoke into his Fenton Phones, "Guys! We're gonna need to regroup soon; I'm exhausted." Danielle responded, "Right. We're on our way back." Danny started, "We should move to another part of town." Danielle questioned, "Why?" Danny answered, "A lot of these ghosts know where I leave; and, in a full-scale invasion like this, that won't be good." Tucker interjected, "I can probably just get us a cabin or something in the hills; something nobody would see to keep us hidden." Danny grinned, "Sweet! That would be awesome!" Tucker spoke, "Alright, I found us one. We should head up there now. I'm pretty sure we all have a way there, right?" No one denied as Tucker continued, "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! Danny and Vlad's fight will continue for a while until the final battle with Dark Danny. I might even squeeze in another big enemy for Team Phantom, but I don't know if having Dan Phantom, Plasmius, and another big enemy would be too hectic. What do you guys think? Please read and review with if you guys think that would be a good idea. Oh, and Danny's outfit when Phantom is the one from "Danny Phantom: 10 Years Later". Now onto what you guys have been waiting for; Chapter 10! (The monsters Dan sends to Amity Park was inspired by the fan-comic "Legendary Destination". I recommend it, it's awesome!) **

**Vlad's design in Ectober (remove the spaces): ectober-comic . tumblr page / 64 **

It was getting really late and Danny couldn't sleep. It was pitch black outside. Normally when he was tired he'd go for a flight through the sky, but he could get ambushed if he tried that now. He got out of bed and left the camp site and stood by the trees, accompanied by only his thoughts; how would he deal with all of this? Why is Dan doing this? He sighed as he heard Sam speak behind him, "Couldn't sleep?" He nodded as she smiled, "Me neither." Danny spoke, "I don't know what I'm gonna do." Sam grabbed his hand, "You don't need to do this by yourself anymore. We'll all help you deal with this." Danny groaned, "That's the problem. I'm not doing it by myself anymore. What if he comes back, and I can't beat him? I don't know what I would do if something happened to you guys." Sam smiled, "Don't worry about what he _could_ do. Don't worry about what could happen if you don't beat him. Think about what will be waiting for you when you do." Danny grinned, "You're right. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sam joked, "I don't know either." Danny wrapped her in a warm embrace as she continued, "I'm gonna go inside and try to get some sleep." Danny grinned and kissed her on the cheek, "Good night." She went inside as Danny stood. She was right; he couldn't let all these thoughts of "what-ifs" worry him anymore. They could find a way out of this. All Danny has to do is catch him off guard with an ability he's unaware of. All he has now is his ice powers; as far as Danny knows, Dan hasn't faced them other than their fight in the Ghost Zone. But then there's the elephant in the room; Vlad Plasmius. Hell, he was more ghost than human; he might as well call him just Plasmius. What happened to him? When Danny last saw him in the lab he looked like he would've toppled over and died any second. But all of a sudden, he was back, fully healed, and with a freaky new look. Dan probably had something to do with this; but what? How could he do this to Vlad? Was it a new power? That wouldn't be good. Danny walked back inside and laid down, clearing his head so he could attempt to get some sleep.

Vlad was furious. Daniel escaped from him; again! If it wasn't for his one restriction, he could've easily killed him. The merging was a success and Vlad was more powerful than ever but the question was, could Daniel kill him if Vlad fought with the intent to kill. Daniel tended to pull his punches when he fought anyone because he didn't want to kill anyone, would he change if Vlad fought to kill? Would Danny kill Vlad if it meant that he would live? Vlad smirked as he arrived at Clockwork's Lair. "Hello, Daniel." Dan scowled, "I told you not to call me that. Don't mistake me for him, Plasmius. I left my human half behind long ago; if you push me, I won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?" Vlad dropped his smirk, "What would you like me to call you? Dark Danny? Dan?" Dan responded, "Call me _Phantom_. Just Phantom. No Danny, no Dan. I'm a full ghost, I want to be addressed as one." Vlad spoke, "Why don't you just go to an alternate dimension to get the Time Medallions?" Phantom answered, "Clockwork's Lair is the same no matter where you are in time, or in another dimension. If I went to another dimension to get the medallions, I'd just end up back here." Vlad sighed as Phantom continued, "Did you defeat Danny?" Vlad growled, "No, I didn't. Do you want to know why? Because you are limiting me! You gave me all this power and I can't even use it." Phantom scowled, "I gave you that power so you would stand a chance. If you fought against him in your normal state, he would _crush_ you. The future may be changed, but I can make your's end up the same. Do. Not. Test. Me, _Plasmius_." Even with all of Vlad's new power, he couldn't handle Phantom. He wasn't just moping inside of the thermos; he was plotting. Planning. _Training_. Vlad didn't want to anger him too much. He was emotionless, with no moral code. He would kill Vlad and not bat an eye. He went back in time to murder his family and friends JUST to ensure his existence. All Vlad wanted was payback, but Phantom was going further than that. Phantom spoke, "Release it." Vlad answered, "Are you sure?" Phantom smirked, "_Positive_."

Danny woke up before everyone else and stood outside. He didn't see the harm, so he left a note and flew back to Fenton Works. He turned intangible and flew from the Op Center to the lab.He turned on the news and watched in terror what was going on in Amity Park; the army was beginning to fully take over the rest of the town. He took out Undergrowth, Vortex, and Nocturn, but there were bigger ghosts for him to deal with. Primarily, Dan and Plasmius. Danny refused to just ditch the town again; even if it was to sleep. He'd need to stay here and help until this was over. As Danny was thinking he was drawn out of his thoughts by the activation of his Ghost Sense. Danny scowled as he saw who was behind him, "Johnny." Johnny raised his hands in defense, "Relax, little man! I'm not here to fight you; I'm here to help you." Danny growled, "Why would I need your help?" Johnny answered, "You don't _need_ it; but, you could definitely use it." Danny seethed in anger, "And what exactly could you help me with?" Johnny smirked, "I'm on the inside. Me and Kitty can be double agents; we work with Dan, we can tell you what he's up to and what he's planning. I can probably even send Shadow to mess with what he's doing." Danny scowled, "Alright. But, don't make me regret trusting you." Johnny got on his bike, "You won't. See you around, kid."

As Johnny rode into the Ghost Zone, the rest of Team Phantom piled into the lab. Maddie queried her son, "How did the city hold up?" Danny groaned, "Terrible. Who knows what can happen if we leave again. Even though we took out the bigger threats, the army's flipped the city upside down overnight. We're gonna need to finish this; _fast_." Sam stared, "That is the plan, Danny, but how can we do that? The only thing we can do is wait for Dan to come to us." Danny sighed, "Well, the first thing we need to do is deal with the Fright Knight." Tucker spoke up, "What do you think he's doing?" Danny groaned, "I don't know. Whatever it is, he needed to be at the center of Amity Park to do it." Sam glanced at him and spoke, "So, what are we gonna do?" Danny smirked, "I'm going to go and have a nice chat with the Fright Knight. Everyone stay safe while I'm gone."

Danny turned ghost and flew towards the center of Amity Park, touching down, as he saw Fright Knight hovering above the ground. Danny smirked, "Wow, my knight in shadowy armor. I thought you were through with taking orders, Fright Knight; what changed your mind?" Fright Knight growled, "Do you really think nothing's in this for me? I was promised things that I could only dream of!" Danny stared at him, "All I'm hearing about are these 'unimaginable gifts' that Dan promised you. What's he even planning anyway?" Fright Knight scowled, "I swore on my life to not tell a soul." Danny spoke, "Do you think he made the same promise? I've fought him before and, if I know anything about him, he'll stab you in the back the _second_ he gets a chance." Fright Knight growled, "Let him try! I'm not as weak as you think I am. Let him even _attempt_ to betray me; he will live the rest of his afterlife in his worst fear." Danny sighed, "Are you sure he even has any fears? Just let me help you, Fright Knight." Fright Knight snapped back at Danny, "Thanks, but _no thanks!_" The Fright Knight summoned a flaming meteor and sent it tumbling towards Danny, who quickly obliterated it with an ectoplasmic blast. Danny joked, "You know, just once, this could all end peacefully."

Dan Phantom scowled while he was monitoring what was occurring in Amity Park; Fright Knight was already battling with Danny. Dan would have to unleash his trump card soon. If he couldn't find the medallions and head to Amity Park himself, he could send something else for him. Plasmius interrupted Phantom's thoughts, "Phantom; they are ready. When would you like me to release them?" Phantom smirked, "Good. Unleash them now. When they get there, they'll know what to do." Vlad nodded, "Now go, beasts!"

Danny had to be very evasive in his battle with the Fright Knight. One scratch would end it. Danny groaned, "Come on now, Fright Knight. It doesn't have to be this way. How about you just recite your poem and stick your sword in a pumpkin yourself? It would save me the effort!" Fright Knight retaliated with an enormous ghost ray. Danny quickly formed an ecto shield in front of himself. After his blast faded away, the Fright Knight chuckled. Danny raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What's so funny?" Fright Knight responded, "I'm just preparing for what's to come."

Danny replied, "What's to come? What are you talking about?" Before Fright Knight could answer three giant crustacean-like creatures created a gigantic entrance into the human world from the Ghost Zone. Danny's eyes widened in a mix of fear, surprise, and shock. "What the hell is that thing?" Fright Knight laughed, "The Ghost Zone is like vastness of space. It is infinite! So many realms that open up to many different sections in time in the Ghost Zone. The legends I've heard in my long life were true. Sadly, we couldn't find the one who created these beasts but, they will be more than enough."

Fright Knight disappeared into a swarm of bats as the first beast levitated into the air and slammed down onto Danny. Danny raised his hands and caught the full force of the creature. The shockwave shook Amity Park. Sam spoke into the Fenton Phones, "Danny! What's going on over there?" Danny groaned, the muscles in his arms burning as he exerted the most strength he has in his life. "It looks like Fright Knight has some new pets! This thing must weigh as much as a train!" Danny crouched and with a roar he threw the monster onto it's back. "God, that was hard." As the beast connected with the ground, it left a crack stretching towards City Hall; where Tucker and Valerie were. Danny spoke into his ear piece, "Danielle! If the others will be alright, you should head over to Tucker and Valerie." Danny could practically hear the smile on Danielle's face, "I've got it, cuz. Don't worry about them." Danny smirked. The second monster slammed his hands into the ground, which Danny was able to avoid by dashing into the air. Danny's eyes glowed a vibrant green as he unleashed an extremely powerful ghost ray. Danny scowled as he saw the effect the blast had on the creature, "I barely left a scratch on it." Danny couldn't do too many Ghostly Wails. Even though his endurance has increased since first acquiring the attack, too many would wear him out; and, he didn't even know it would do anything. The beast rose to its feet, with the other two creatures by its side. Danny groaned, "Well, I've always wanted to go to a rodeo. I guess now is a better time than ever!"

Danielle arrived at City Hall to see if Tucker and Valerie needed assistance. She couldn't see Valerie but she could Tucker muttering to himself. "Where is it? Where, where, where?" Danielle looked at him in confusion, a grin slowly appearing on her face. "Tucker? What are you looking for?" He jumped, "Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Danielle giggled, "Well, it was just so easy. Where's Val?" Tucker kept rummaging, "I think she went to go find something to eat. I wasn't really paying attention." Danielle scoffed, "Boys. So, what are you looking for?" Tucker responded, "Well, when whatever Danny did shook the ground, I dropped my PDA. I can't find it _anywhere_. It probably slid under my desk or something but I can't get low enough to check. Can you turn it intangible or something?" Dani touched her hand to the desk and made it possible for Tucker to reach through it. "A-ha! There it is!" He pulled his PDA from underneath the desk. Valerie walked through the front door of City Hall, "Everything's locked down. I didn't think people would be working during this." Danielle spoke, "What have you guys been doing?" "We've been taking visits." Valerie assured her. Danielle stared at her in confusion, "Visitors? Who has been visiting you?" A voice spoke from behind her, "I have." Danielle gasped, "Johnny? What are you doing here?" Johnny 13 scoffed, "Did Danny _really_ not tell you? Me, Kitty, and Shadow are helping you." Danielle scowled, "Are you serious?" Tucker sighed, "Look, we like this just as much as you do, but we need any advantage that we can get." Johnny smirked, "Well I'm glad someone here has some sense." Danielle snarled, "I'm gonna go see if Sam, Maddie, and Jack need any help." She zoomed out of City Hall, obliterating every soldier in her path. Valerie glanced at the destruction left in her wake, "Well, she seems upset."

Danny created a large shield to defend against the three gigantic ghost rays that were sent directly towards him. He dropped his shield as the blasts dissipated. His eyes turned an icy blue as he blasted the creatures with an ice ray, which had little to no effect. Danny groaned, "Not only do I have to deal with the Fright Knight, Plasmius, and Dan, I also have to beat three overgrown lobsters?" The creatures obviously didn't respond. "Just when I thought the three giant crabs would talk back to me." Thankfully Danny was being attacked one at a time. If Vlad showed up, Danny didn't know if he could take him. And if Dan found the Time Medallions, it would be all over. Vlad's power grew exponentially and who knows how much stronger Dan was after his time spent in the thermos.

Danny scowled, "My girlfriend wouldn't approve of the blatant animal abuse I'm about to dish out but, desperate times call for DESPERATE MEASURES!" His eyes were a mix of their neon green and icy blue as he unleashed an icy energy blast. The blast didn't have a noticeable effect on the creatures. He would _definitely_ need to switch his approach. Just attacking directly wasn't doing anything. There had to be some part of them that he could damage. He kicked off of the asphalt and flew around one of the monsters, trying to find any vulnerability in it. He couldn't find anything he could do damage to. The shell was insanely strong, the amount of force it could take was ridiculous. As he flew around, he found a little gap between the shell and it's stomach and the underbelly of the beast. All it would take was one good blast and it would go down. Getting underneath it would be a different problem. Maybe he could flip it over to reveal its weak point? No. Danny flipping it the first time was still excruciatingly painful. But then, he was holding the beast over his head. He could probably sneak under it to flip it onto its back to hit its weak point and suck it into the thermos. But, would they all fall for it? And, did they all have the same weak point? Now would be the best time to find out.

Maddie, Jack, and Sam were beginning to struggle with the army. The ghosts that guarded Pandora's Lair were multiplying and mixing into the skeletal forces as well. Minotaurs, centaurs, cyclops', even gorgons showed up. Dan really stuck his claws into every inch of the Ghost Zone. Wait...what happened to Pandora? Sam doubted she would just let her guards walk out of her realm like that. Did Dan do something to her? Before she could finish her thought, a cyclops charged at her. Before she could pull the trigger on her blaster, Danielle intercepted the Cyclops' charge by slamming into it. Sam scoffed, "I had that one." Danielle grinned, "That's exactly what I would say. Especially if I didn't have it. How have you guys been holding up over here?" Sam sighed, "It's been pretty easy. _Too easy_. I just wish we could be doing more to help." Danielle smiled, "Don't worry about it. If you're talking about Danny, I don't think he wants help from anyone right now. He's being kind of destructive right now." As Danielle said this, a loud crash reverberated throughout Amity Park. Sam scoffed, "That's an understatement if I had ever heard of one. Do you think he'll be alright?" Dani smirked, "He'll be fine. He's dealt with stuff worse than this before. Besides, after seeing his fight with Vlad, I doubt he'll lose very easily.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N; I hope you guys are really enjoying this story because I am loving writing it. Danny Phantom is something I have always been passionate about and all the other fanfictions I read restarted that fire inside of me. This will definitely not be my last story and if the inspiration keeps flowing, I should have another story out by the time this one is finished. It is an idea a few of my friends know about, so I hope you guys will love it! Now, onto your regularly scheduled Chapter 11!**

Danny was flying more acrobatic than usual. Getting underneath these things was not very easy. Danny kicked off of the ground and his eyes turned an icy blue as he froze the ghost ray that was sent towards him with an ice blast. He landed on the ground and dashed underneath the creature. As he saw the weak point, he channeled ecto-energy into his fist and slammed it into the beasts weak point. As it came crashing down, Danny turned intangible and stood on top of it. Danny smirked, "One down, two to go." The roar from the two that were left reverberated through the sky.Danny dropped onto the head of the large crab-like creature. He grabbed it by the horns and flipped it onto it's back and blasted its weak point. After incapacitating two of them, he had one left. The beast stood on its hind legs as Danny blasted its stomach and caused it to fall onto its back. Danny sucked the three creatures into the thermos and grinned, "Well, that wasn't so bad." He kicked off of the ground and flew back to Fenton Works.

DDDDDDDD

As Danny arrived at Fenton Works, what he saw terrified him. Danielle, and his dad were down and Sam was held in the air by her throat; by Vlad. Plasmius cackled, "Do you really think you can handle me, child? Even though I can't kill Daniel, nothing stops me from killing _you_." Sam spoke through forced breaths, "You won't win." Vlad growled as he blasted her in the stomach. Danny screamed in fear, "Sam!" Danny and Vlad stared each other down. Danny scowled, "What the hell did you do to them?!" Vlad smirked, "Nothing. _Yet._ Just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't _ruin your life_." Danny's eyes glowed a violent green, "Where's my mom?" Vlad smirked, "That's for me to know and for you to find out." Danny snarled, "You bastard!" Vlad chuckled, "Such words are unbecoming of a young man such as yourself. What would Samantha think?"

Danny roared as he tackled Vlad into the air. Danny cupped his hands together and slammed them down onto the top of Vlad's head, sending him toppling into the ground. Danny unleashed an incredibly powerful blast in Vlad's direction, which he was able to barely defend against using his ecto-shield. As soon as the smoke cleared, Danny slammed his fist into Vlad's jaw. Danny snarled, "You have some nerve coming here. You not only hurt Danielle; you hurt my mom, my dad, and you had the audacity to hurt Sam. Now, you have broken my last straw." Vlad smirked, "What are you gonna do? Kill me?" Danny growled, "You'll wish I would've killed you." He unleashed one of his most powerful Ghostly Wails.

DDDDDDDD

Tucker broke the silence that he and Valerie were in. "It feels like we're not doing anything." Valerie groaned, "Well, what can we do?" Tucker's eyes lit up as he had a realization, "Where are these soldiers goings?" Valerie sighed, "We don't know. That's kind of the problem right now. Well, unless we attack them, they leave us alone. So, we should mix in with the crowd and follow them to wherever they are going!" Valerie grinned, "You, Tucker Foley, are a genius." Tucker smirked, "I'm not just a pretty face, you know."

DDDDDDDD

Red ectoplasm leaked from Vlad's ears after Danny unleashed his Ghostly Wail. Danny descended to the ground with a scowl on his face. Vlad blasted Danny with a ghost ray but Danny easily froze it solid with an ice beam from his eyes. Danny growled, "Even with all your newfound power, you're still gonna lose. And it's not just because Dan told you not to kill me, it's because you're outmatched; you haven't been a match for me for years. You should've stayed away from my family. But, you'd rather have one last shot of revenge. I assumed you would have done some growing up when my dad left you to rot. But all you are is the same jealous scumbag from the first day I met you." Vlad snarled as he threw a punch at Danny which he easily caught and retaliated by kicking him in the stomach. Vlad backed away. Danny growled, "What's wrong, Vlad? Don't tell me. You're scared? Did you realise you're in over your head?" Danny dragged Vlad into the lab of Fenton Works and spoke, "Tell Dan to come here himself or next time, you won't be sent back." He threw Vlad into the Ghost Zone and proceeded to lock the portal.

Danny turned intangible and quickly flew to the front of Fenton Works. Danny brought everyone inside and shook them awake. Sam yelled in happiness and relief as she wrapped her arms around Danny in a warm embrace, "Danny!" Danny quickly reciprocated as he questioned the four people in the room. Sam quickly looked around the room, "Where's Vlad?" Danny smirked, "I threw him into the Ghost Zone. If Dan wants to fight me, he should stop sending his lackeys to do it for him. What happened here?" Danielle sighed, "We were fighting the army. It didn't seem like we were making progress. Vlad showed up and it's all fuzzy from there." Danny asked, "Where's my mom?" Jack immediately darted up, "Maddie's gone?!" Danny assured his dad, "Don't worry, dad. We'll get her back." Jack shouted, "Damn it! How could I let this happen?!" Danny responded, "Dad, this isn't your fault; none of us could have been ready for this. Don't worry, we'll get her back." Jack stormed out of the room.

Danny sighed, "This just can't get any worse." Sam spoke up, "At least Dan hasn't found the Time Medallions yet." Danny breathed a sigh of relief, "You're right. If he finds them, we're in trouble. It took everything I had to beat him last time, and he's gotten a lot stronger since then. The only way I can beat him is to force him out of Clockwork's Lair long enough for the paradox of his existence to affect him. Either that, or he'll find the medallions and I'll fight him here. Fighting him in Clockwork's Lair wouldn't be easy because it's a confined space. But, fighting him here would be dangerous to the city and everyone in it; and, who knows what could happen to the time stream if Clockwork's Lair gets destroyed." Danielle sighed, "Than is it better to fight him here, in the Ghost Zone, or a whole other area entirely?" Danny groaned, "Honestly; I have no idea. I guess I'm gonna wait for him to come to us." Sam asked, "Where do you think your mom is?" Danny sighed, "I'm guessing Vlad took her; and, if he did, he must be able to create portals to the Ghost Zone if he took her there."

Sam reassured him, "Don't worry; we'll get her back, and we'll beat Dan." Danny groaned, "I don't know, I didn't think he'd go this far. But, he doesn't _feel_ anything so, I wouldn't put it past him." Danielle asked, "What's his goal, anyway?" Danny sighed, "To make sure I turn into him." Danielle spoke, "I don't get it. Why would you turn into him?" Danny answered, "Dan is me from an alternate future. In this future I cheat on the CAT which prompts Mr. Lancer to have a meeting with my parents. In this meeting, the boiler in the Nasty Burger explodes and kills Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Mom, Dad, and Mr. Lancer. After they died, I moved in with Vlad and ask him to separate my human half from my ghost half so I wouldn't feel the hurt anymore. After he separated them, my ghost side separated Vlad and Plasmius and merged with him. He killed my human half, and blew up the mansion so he could wreak havoc on Earth and the Ghost Zone."

Danielle gasped and regained her composure, "If that timeline was erased, how is he still here?" Danny answered, "I trapped him in the thermos and Clockwork held on to him. The only reason he hasn't been erased is because Clockwork's Lair is immune to changes in history. He can't leave, which is why he sent Vlad, the Fright Knight, and the army to do his work for him." Danny groaned, "The fact that he's back scares the hell out of me. I barely beat him the last time; and, even then, I lost everyone again." Sam blinked in confusion, "You lost us?" Danny hissed, "Oh, shoot. I forgot Clockwork changed everything. When fought Dan, I beat him with my newly acquired Ghostly Wail. But, because I used it twice, I didn't the energy to get you guys off of the boiler so it blew up and you died. Clockwork showed up and rewinded time to when I was taking the CAT so I didn't cheat." Sam sighed, "I knew something was up. I didn't remember you acquiring the Ghostly Wail. One day, you could just do it." Danny groaned, "Sorry I didn't tell you guys. As far as everyone knew, it didn't happen. You, Tucker, and Jazz were the only people who knew Dan ever existed."

Danielle sighed in a mix of surprise and shock after hearing the story of Dan Phantom. Danny scowled, "I'm gonna go deal with the Fright Knight." Danny flew out of Fenton Works and immediately spoke into the Fenton Phones for everyone to hear, "If _anyone_ sees Vlad,_ do not engage_; contact me and I'll get there as fast as I can, got it?" There was a chorus of agreement in the voice channel. Danny quickly ascended into the sky as he flew loops around the city searching for Fright Knight. Danny narrowed his eyes as he searched, "Where are you, Fright Knight?

DDDDDDDD

Dan was searching Clockwork's Lair for the medallions. He growled in anger and frustration. Dan groaned, "Where could Clockwork have put those damn medallions?" Vlad arrived with Maddie in his grasp as Dan snapped at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing with her?" Vlad smirked, "What's the problem? Don't tell me the most feared ghost of all time still loves his mother?" Dan growled, "Don't push me, Plasmius. Why would you give Danny motivation to destroy you?" Vlad scowled, "The plan is to make sure he turns into you, keeping Maddie will help with that." Dan snapped, "It's obvious he won't turn into me by choice anymore. The only thing we can do now is _force _the transformation. You didn't take her because we needed her, you took her because you _wanted _her." Vlad growled, "I know what I'm doing. Let me handle it. You're not as powerful as you think you are." Dan sneered, "Don't threaten me, Plasmius. I could go to Amity Park, wipe them _all _out, and be back before the paradox catches up to me." Vlad chuckled, "If it's so easy, why haven't you done it yet? If you could _truly _do all that, why did you need me and the Fright Knight? It sounds like a lot of big talk." Dan growled and stormed out.

DDDDDDDD

Danny touched down in the center of Amity Park. The Fright Knight descended and the two powerful ghosts stared each other down. Danny scowled, "This game's over now, Fright Knight." Fright Knight unsheathed his Soul Shredder as he smirked, "You can't beat me _child._" Danny growled as his hands glowed a vibrant green, "I doubt that, _Princess of Darkness_." Fright Knight swung his sword as Danny easily avoided his attack. Danny had to be careful. All Fright Knight needed was one cut and the fight would be over. Fright Knight blasted Danny with a purple ghost ray, which Danny froze with an ice beam from his eyes. Fright Knight dashed into the air and unleashed a flaming meteor, which Danny shattered with a ghost ray in the air. Danny smirked, "C'mon now, Fright Knight! Can you at least _try_ to make this difficult for me?" Fright Knight growled as he flew and threw a punch at Danny. Danny chuckled as he easily caught the Fright Knight's fist.

Fright Knight kicked Danny in his chest and knocked him on the ground. Danny rolled to the left as the Fright Knight drove the Soul Shredder into the ground. Danny quickly fired a ghost ray at Fright Knight and sent him tumbling through the air. Danny thought to himself, _"Awesome. Now that he's without his sword, I can do some real damage."_ Danny quickly flew into the air and caught up to the Fright Knight. Danny grabbed Fright Knight by his leg and threw him into the ground. Danny smirked as he fired a ghost ray at the Fright Knight. As the Fright Knight avoided Danny's blast, he summoned the Soul Shredder to his hands.

Danny quickly descended and before Fright Knight had the chance to swing, Danny instantly cupped his hands together and hit him with a double punch to the chest. Fright Knight quickly shot a ghost ray from his sword, which Danny blocked with his ghost shield. Danny deactivated his shield as the smoke cleared and barely had enough time to dodge the Soul Shredder's swift slash. Danny quickly created a sword of ghost energy and blocked the second slash. Fright Knight threw a punch which Danny caught with the hand that wasn't holding his sword. As Danny grappled with the Fright Knight, Danny shot an eye beam and knocked him into the ground.

DDDDDDDD

Tucker and Valerie followed the soldiers as they arrived at Amity Park Mall. What the saw sent chills down their spines; at the top of the escalator was Pariah Dark's Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Is Dan planning on releasing the Ghost King? If he did, Team Phantom would be in big trouble. Not only was there Vlad, Dan, and Fright Knight, Pariah would cause Amity Park to descend further into chaos. As far as Tucker could tell, all that was there was the sarcophagus. Thankfully the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire weren't here. Hopefully; if they were, everyone would be in real time. Danny barely beat him the last time they fought, and that was while he was wearing the Fenton Ecto-Skeleton. Tucker spoke into the Fenton Phones, "Um, Danny? We have a big problem." Danny responded, "Can it wait until I'm done? I'm kind of occupied right now!" Tucker heard a ghost ray get fired on the other end. Whether it was Danny's or Fright Knight's was a mystery. Tucker sighed, "Alright. Hurry up and beat Fright Knight and I'll tell you what's going on." Danny quickly replied, "Got it!" Tucker spoke to Valerie, "We might be in big trouble." Valerie was confused, "Why? What is that thing up there?" Tucker answered, "It's a sarcophagus holding one of the strongest ghosts in the Ghost Zone; Pariah Dark, King of All Ghosts. Danny beat him before, so hopefully he can beat him again if he's woken up." Valerie sighed, "This just keeps getting worse."

DDDDDDDD

"This is the end of you, Danny Phantom! I've been dreaming of the moment I finally crush you." Danny smirked, "Ah, so you _do _think of me! I'm touched, honestly." Fright Knight roared as he fired a barrage of ghost rays which Danny quickly avoided. Danny fired back with an immensely powerful blast which Fright Knight barely dodged. Fright Knight fired a ghost ray from the Soul Shredder which Danny reflected with a ghost shield. Danny then flew up to Fright Knight and slammed his fist into his jaw. Fright Knight was immediately sent tumbling towards the ground. Danny descended to the ground. Danny grinned, "You know, people want revenge towards me beating them all the time. But this is normally how it ends up. Them standing on the ground, and me victorious. You think they'd learn eventually." Fright Knight growled, "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you." Fright Knight teleported directly in front of Danny as his ghost sense went off. Fright Knight swung the Soul Shredder. This was it. This was how Danny Phantom _finally_ lost. Danny always knew his big mouth would be the death of him one day. Danny wouldn't be able to dodge the swing, and he couldn't turn intangible in time. But before the slice connected, someone else took the hit for him; Danielle.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm really sorry about how long it took me to finish and post the eleventh chapter. I've been really sick recently and I haven't had time to write. So, about that cliffhanger! Danielle got hit by the Soul Shredder. How will Danny react to this? Keep in mind, he sees Dani as a little sister. Also, Pariah Dark? Will he be released? How will Danny beat him? Keep in mind, Danny has a lot more powers now than he did when they first fought. Also, this story may be a little shorter than I anticipated. I put too much stuff in each chapter which ended up progressing the story faster. I may be able to drag it on, but I'm not very sure. Maybe I'll squeeze in something interesting to take up space. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

"NO!" Danny screamed in a mix of terror and shock as Danielle disappeared. Fright Knight cackled. Danny growled and blasted the sword out of Fright Knight's hand as Danny lifted him into the air. "You bastard. Bring her back!" Fright Knight smirked, "Or what? You'll lock me up in the thermos? Throw me back in the Ghost Zone? I'm the only one who can bring her back." Fright Knight summoned his sword back to his hand but Danny caught it by the handle. Danny growled, "I doubt you've ever experienced your worst fear. Bring her back, or I'll send you to that dimension and get her back myself!" Fright Knight chuckled. He turned into a swarm of bats and easily escaped Danny's grip and appeared behind him.

Danny snapped around as the sword was immediately pulled from his grip. Danny could end this now with his Ghostly Wail, but he needed his energy for whatever Tucker was worried about. Danny growled as his hands glowed green, surrounded by ectoplasmic energy, "You have made a _big_ mistake." Danny's eyes glowed blue and he shot multiple icicles form his hands. After Fright Knight dodged, Danny immediately kicked off the ground and darted after him. Fright Knight shot a ghost ray at Danny, but Danny froze it with an ice ray as it fell to the ground and shattered. Fright Knight attempted to fly over Danny's head but Danny grabbed him by his leg and slammed him into the ground. Before Danny could interrogate the Fright Knight, he sliced the air with the Soul Shredder, creating a portal to the Ghost Zone and jumped in. Danny groaned, "Damn."

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Danny flew to Fenton Works and touched down in the living room. Sam was the first to speak up, "Where's Danielle?" Danny sighed, "Fright Knight got her. He was going to hit me with the Soul Shredder, and she took the hit for me. She is living out her worst fear until I get her out." Sam gasped, "Oh my god! That's terrible!" Danny looked around the room and asked Sam, "How's my dad?" Sam sighed, "Not very good. He's been quiet and moody. He's been very violent towards these soldiers when they pass by. Who knows what he'd try to do if he saw Vlad again." Danny groaned. Sam continued, "You should go see what Tucker and Valerie need. It sounded pretty urgent." Danny nodded and took off. He spoke into the Fenton Phones, "Tucker! Valerie! Where are you guys? I'm on my way now!" Tucker whispered into the earpiece, "We're at the mall. Hurry!" Danny flew through the air as fast as he could. As he arrived, he turned intangible to find Tucker and Valerie. As he arrived he spoke, "So, what are we looking for?" Tucker jumped, "Don't do that!" Danny smirked as Valerie spoke, "Do you see what's on top of the escalator?" Danny's eyes widened in disbelief, "Pariah's sarcophagus!" Tucker responded, "What are we gonna do?" Danny groaned, "I don't know. I can't just sneak it out of here and bring him back to the Ghost Zone. Maybe you guys could free him and then I could beat him and lock him in the thermos?" Tucker raised his eyebrows, "Do you really think you can beat him?" Danny smirked, "Ye of little faith. It took a lot out of me last time, but I'm a lot stronger. And, I don't see the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire so I can definitely take him." Valerie sighed, "Alright. We're gonna get out of here. You do your thing." Valerie grabbed Tucker and they flew away on her board. Danny grinned, "This is gonna be fun."

DDDDDDDD

Danielle was stranded. There was no one. She tried to take a step until she noticed that she was strapped to a table. She tried to break the bonds but she was powerless, although she was in her Phantom form. The disembodied voice she heard sent chills down her spine, "You are disposable. In order to make the perfect clone I have to melt you down and study your ectoplasmic remains." She looked down in fear as she saw her legs fading into pure ectoplasm.

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Danny's hands were glowing green as he easily tore through the skeletons. He was untouchable. One soldier stabbed at him, but Danny picked it up and spun it around to throw it through the soldiers. He created a small explosive disk out of ghost energy and launched it, taking out multiple ghosts at once. As the soldiers surrounded Danny, he created a Repulsion Field, immediately destroying the remaining skeletons surrounding him. He then walked up the escalator as he stared at the eternal resting place of the Ghost King. Danny smirked as he approached the sarcophagus, "Come on! At least make me break a sweat here, guys!" He was standing in front of the sarcophagus as he had a realization; he couldn't open it. He didn't have the Skeleton Key. Only one person could have the key; Vlad. Vlad was the last person to have the key so it's probably still in Vlad's mansion. Danny turned intangible and flew through the roof of the mall.

He spoke into the earpiece, "Guys! I'm headed to Vlad's mansion. I need the Skeleton Key to unlock the sarcophagus. Vlad was the last person to use it, so I'm gonna search his mansion." Tucker sighed, "I still think this is a terrible idea." Danny grinned, "C'mon. I beat him before and I'm a lot stronger than I was back then. I can definitely take him. I didn't have my ice powers or my Ghostly Wail back then." Tucker groaned, "Alright, be careful." Danny smirked as he closed in on Vlad's mansion, "When have I not? Oh! And before I go on, keep an eye on my dad. I don't want him to do anything rash while I'm gone, like going after Vlad." Tucker nodded, "Right."

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Danielle was constantly reassuring herself that this was not real. But it definitely felt like it was. The poking and prodding, the ways Vlad was experimenting on her were not getting any less painful. The torture was excrutiating. He was taunting her after every attempt. What's worse is that, until Danny freed her, it would never end. He would never attempt to make his "perfect clone". She could only hope that all this would be over soon.

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Danny turned intangible as he walked through the front door of Vlad's mansion. Danny spoke to himself, "If I was a key hidden by a maniac, where would I be?" He searched the living room until he saw a skull on the desk by the sofa. He lifted the skull and pressed the button underneath it, raising the key from the ground. Danny smirked, "I expected this to be a little bit harder, Vlad. I'm _very_ unimpressed." Danny snatched the key and flew back to deal with Pariah. Hopefully this idea wouldn't fail.

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Tucker spoke to Sam, "How's Danny's dad doing?" Sam sighed, "It doesn't look like he's holding up very well. He won't come out. He's just locked up in the lab." Tucker groaned, "Damn. Are you sure he's still in there?" Sam nodded, "I can still see him on the security cameras." Tucker asked, "What's he doing?" Sam responded, "Pacing, it looks like he's talking to himself but, I can't hear what he's saying though. The footage doesn't have audio." Tucker groaned and spoke into the earpiece, "Danny, how's everything looking for you?" Danny spoke, "I'm nearly there now."

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As Danny walked up the escalator, he approached the sarcophagus. He thought to himself as he stuck the key in the lock, _"Well, here goes nothing." _He turned the key and opened the sarcophagus, releasing one of his greatest foes. The ominous voice boomed through all of Amity Park, "Finally, I am free!" Danny smirked, "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm gonna have to lock you up again. Can't have you roaming around here, now can we?" Pariah scowled, "You. You dare show your face to me again?! I will crush you!" Danny chuckled, "Someone's always threatening to destroy me. And, it never happens. Can, at least, one of you follow up on your threat?" Pariah snapped, "You will respect me." Danny spoke in barely restrained laughter, "Or what? You'll destroy me? I beat you last time when you had the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire and, spoiler alert, you don't have either of those right now. You're barely a threat to me anymore." Pariah roared as he threw a punch at Danny, which he caught.

Danny kicked the King of all Ghosts back, knocking him into the wall. Pariah threw his mace at Danny, but Danny retaliated by shooting the mace midair with an ice ray. Danny shot Pariah with a ghost ray, sending him through the wall. Danny smirked, "Wow, Pariah. I had high expectations for our second round. You really are disappointing me." Pariah roared as he shot a ghost ray which obliterated the wall behind Danny. Before Danny could recover he was picked up and thrown by Pariah. Danny quickly jumped to his feet and blocked a full force punch by Pariah. Danny shot the Ghost King in the stomach with a ghost ray. Danny heard Tucker's voice in his ear, "Danny! Have you beat him yet?" Danny sighed, "No. I'm getting there. Let's hope the thermos can hold him." Pariah unsheathed his sword and sliced at Danny. Danny caught the blade between the palms of his hands and blasted Pariah in the face with an eye beam.

All Danny had to do was lock Pariah into the thermos. Pariah through his mace at Danny, which Danny was able to avoid until it circled back around and hit him and the back, knocking him into the ground. Before Danny could stand back up, Pariah put his foot on Danny's back, holding him on the ground. Pariah laughed, "A valiant effort, child. But it is time for me to retake my throne." Danny smirked as his eyes and hands glowed an icy blue, "Not on my watch." Danny froze Pariah's leg and flipped him off of him. Danny quickly uncapped the thermos and imprisoned the Ghost King. Danny put the thermos in the sarcophagus and sealed it shut. Danny scowled, "And then there was one."

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Dan curled his fingers around a ghost ray as he prepared to vaporize Clockwork. Clockwork finally broke as he screamed, "Enough! The medallions...are in...the floorboards." Dan smirked, "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Dan knocked out the Ghost of Time as he put the medallion around his neck. He cackled, "Perfect." 


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm really sorry for overestimating the length of this story. Sadly, this will be the end but, don't worry. There will be more where this came from and I will write my next story fully before I post it. I hope you guys enjoyed this story and thanks to all of you who followed me on this journey! Now, for the final chapter of "The Melancholy of Danny Phantom"!**

Danny arrived at Fenton Works to meet with the rest of Team Phantom. Before Danny could speak the ground shook violently. Team Phantom ran outside and saw green fire raising from the cracks made in the ground. Danny gasped, "Oh no. He's coming." The red eyes penetrated the smoke as the figure touched the ground, the Time Medallion shining around his neck. Danny stepped in front of Team Phantom as he ordered, "I need you guys to get out of here." Jack interjected, "No chance. I'm not going anywhere." Sam agreed, "Right. You can't take him by yourself." Danny groaned, "I can't afford to be worried about you guys while I'm fighting him." Tucker spoke, "We're not going to leave you alone with him. You, of all people, know what he's capable of." Danny sighed, "Fine. But, don't get too close." The rest of the team nodded as Danny moved forward. Danny raised his voice, "It's time we end this game, Dan." Dan chuckled, "Yes. _Let's._"

Danny quickly jumped into the air as he grappled with Dan. Danny's eyes glowed an icy blue as he froze Dan's arms and threw him into the ground. He shot a full power ghost ray at Dan while he was immobilized, but Dan was able to avoid it. Dan and Danny unleashed their Ghostly Wails, the shockwave from the clash reverberated through Amity Park. Danny sighed in exhaustion. Dan smirked as he lifted Danny off of the ground, "How could Plasmius lose to _you_?" Danny scowled, "He let his guard down." Danny yanked the medallion off of Dan's neck. When nothing happened Danny gasped, "I don't understand! How are you still here?!" Dan laughed, "I don't think you understand. If I'm still here, that means you still turn into me." Dan threw Danny through the air and sent him crashing through Fenton Works.

Danny staggered as he rose to his feet. Dan walked through the hole in the wall as he created three duplicates of himself. All the duplicates electrocuted Danny with a Ghost Stinger as the teenage halfa screamed in pain. Danny fell to his knees, panting, "Is that...all you've got?" Danny rose to his feet and threw a punch at his future self, which Dan easily caught. Dan punched back, knocking Danny onto his back. Dan grabbed Danny by the collar and threw him through the window. Danny groaned, feeling the broken glass on his back. Dan smirked, "Last time I checked, I used to be way more vocal when I was fighting." Danny scowled, "I'm not you, and I never will be." Dan laughed, "If you will never be me, than how am I still here? If you would never become me, I would've disappeared when you yanked the medallion off of me." Danny roared as he charged at Dan. Danny shot a ghost ray, which Dan deflected with his bare hands. Danny dropped to the ground and did a double kick to Dan's chest, to no avail. Dan smirked, "You don't understand. You are no match for me. You might as well just give up."

Danny snarled, "I _never_ give up." Dan scowled, "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." Dan roared as he raised powerful torrents of green fire from the ground, completely destroying the surrounding area. Danny's eye turned an icy blue as he shot multiple icicles out of his hands. Dan created a hole in his chest as the icicles harmlessly passed through him. Dan shot Danny with a ghost ray, sending him skidding across the ground. Everything was destroyed. Flames surrounded the war-torn battleground in Amity Park. With every ounce of willpower Danny Phantom had, he shakily rose to his feet. Ectoplasm leaked through the gashes on his arms as he could sense the battle nearing its end. "Well, if this is the end, let's go out with a bang," he said as he prepared to unleash his Ghostly Wail.

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Even though Danny told them to stay away, Sam couldn't leave him to do this fight by himself. If he lost, it would all be over. But, as much as it hurt her to say, Danny was losing. His future self was easily dominating him. Dan had his foot pressed against Danny's chest, holding him to the ground. Dan smirked, "I told you my goal. To make you become me, and I know just how to do that." Green energy surrounding Sam as she was drawn towards Dan. Danny's eyes widened as he pleaded, "Wait! Put her down! Please!" Dan laughed as he shot a ghost ray through Sam's chest as Danny screamed, "NO!"

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Danny was in shock as Sam's body collapsed to the ground. Danny sobbed, "You bastard! You'll pay for that!" Danny through Dan off of him, as his body was surrounded by a flaming green aura. Dan spoke in awe, "What the hell is that?" Danny roared as he charged his future self. Danny he slammed his fist into the chest of his older self. They clashed as Danny threw into the ground and unleashed an extremely powerful ghost ray. Danny reared his head back as he unleashed his Ghostly Wail. Danny descended and lifted Dan into the air by his collar as his hand was surrounded by green energy. Dan cackled, "DO IT! Kill me and you're no different than I am." Danny threw Dan on the ground, "I'm better than you are. I will never become you. I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Danny turned his back and intended to walk away as he was blasted by Dan. Dan snarled, "Never turn your back on an enemy. Never underestimate your opponent. I made the mistake once. Never again." Dan's hand glowed green as he intended to kill Danny, until a voice boomed through the sky. "GET AWAY FROM MY SON, YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!" Jack charged Dan with the Ecto-Skeleton. He strapped the Specter Deflector around Dan's waist as he attacked him. As Dan collapsed to the ground Jack roared, "You will never hurt my family AGAIN!" He slammed his fists into Dan's chest as he faded away, leaving a Time Medallion in his place. Danny's eyes widened. He was never going to turn into him. Dan fused a Time Medallion inside of himself so when Danny took the one off of his chest, Danny would think he would become him. Danny groaned in a mix of pain and exhaustion, "Thanks, dad." Danny dashed over to Sam, "Oh no, no, no. SAM! It's gonna be alright. You're gonna be okay." Danny wasn't sure if he was comforting her or himself.

Jack got into the Fenton Assault Vehicle and drove faster than he has before. As they arrived at Fenton Works, Danny spoke to his father, "Dad, I need you to take care of her. I'll be back." Danny flew into the Ghost Zone as he instantly arrived at Clockwork's Lair. He heard Fright Knight's voice, "Did you do it, Master?" Danny scowled, "No, he didn't." Fright Knight snapped around and charged Danny. Danny caught Fright Knight's slash and kicked him into the opposite wall. Danny kicked the door open to find Vlad kneeling in front of his mother. Danny growled, "Get away from her, Plasmius." Vlad rose to his feet as he scowled at Danny, "You really defeated him, I'm impressed." Danny spoke, "Get out of here, Plasmius." Vlad was shocked, "You're letting me go?" Danny scowled, "The fact that I'm letting you go is why I'm better than _him. _Now get out of here before I change my mind." Vlad smirked as he flew out of the clocktower. Danny quickly unchained his mom. "Mom! Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Maddie spoke, "No, they didn't. Vlad tried, but the other ghost stopped him." Other ghost? She must have been talking about Dan. He wasn't excited about that conversation. He approached the Fright Knight and pried the Soul Shredder from his hands. He spotted the pumpkin in the corner of the room as he recited the poem, "To cease the storm, to end the fear, the sword must sheath in pumpkin near." Fright Knight roared as he disappeared, and Danielle took his place. Danielle shuddered, "That was the worst thing I've ever seen." Danny spoke, "Are you alright?" Danielle grinned, "I've been better, but I'll get over it." Danny asked, "Why did you take the hit for me?" Danielle groaned, "If anyone could have handled Dan, it would've been you. If he hit you, we would've been out of luck." Danny smiled as he scooped up Danielle and his mother and exited the Ghost Zone.

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Danny spoke to his father, "How is she?" Jack looked up from Sam, "She'll be fine, she should be awake pretty soon. That ghost ray didn't do too much to her. Thankfully it didn't hit any of her internal organs." Danny stayed by her side after everyone went upstairs to sleep. Danny was asleep in a chair but was awoken from hearing Sam stirring in the middle of the night. He instantly rushed to her side and spoke in relief, "God, I was so worried. Are you alright?" She groaned, "What happened? Did we win?" Danny grinned, "Yeah, we won. I freed Danielle from the Soul Shredder, I imprisoned the Fright Knight, defeated Dan, and got my mom back." Sam spoke, confusion evident in her tone, "What about Vlad?" Danny sighed, "I let him go." Sam questioned him, "Why?" Danny scowled, "After what Dan did to you, I nearly killed him. He told me if I killed him, I would be no different than he was. So, instead of completely obliterating Vlad, I let him go. I won't become him. I let Vlad go to show myself I was better than Dan. If I killed Vlad, I wouldn't be any different than Dan." Sam smiled, "Good. You kept your morals." Danny's eyes widened, "You're not mad?" Sam grinned, "I would've been more upset if you killed him. What happened to Dan?" Danny sighed, "My dad killed him. After I decided not to kill Dan, he attacked me when I turned my back. My dad jumped in and strapped the Specter Deflector around Dan's waist and killed him. I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry." Sam comforted him, It's not your fault, you couldn't stop it." Danny sighed, "I know. Get some sleep. You'll be feeling better in the morning."

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Weeks passed after the final battle with Dan. Repairs were in order and Amity Park was beginning to look like nothing ever happened. Danielle was still recovering from living out her fear, Valerie and Tucker started dating, and everything was back to how it should be.


End file.
